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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: mine · hand · wake · squash · bass · chair · pitcher · pop

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. pop — music
  3. squash — the sport
  4. bass — low music
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. wake — a trail
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. squash — to crush
  10. pop — to visit
  11. bass — the fish
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. pop — soda
  20. chair — a leader
  21. hand — help
  22. mine — for digging
  23. hand — in cards
  24. mine — belonging to me

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