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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: net · hide · squash · file · bass · mouse · game · ball

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. game — a match
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. file — a line of people
  5. bass — the fish
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. net — for catching
  10. file — a tool
  11. bass — low music
  12. ball — a great time
  13. squash — the sport
  14. net — in sport
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. game — wild animals
  18. net — after costs
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. ball — a dance
  21. squash — to crush
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. file — a document

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com