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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: pound · mine · saw · mark · sharp · hand · fan · bass

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. hand — help
  6. mark — a trace
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. hand — in cards
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. pound — a weight
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. mark — a grade
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. bass — low music
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — the tool
  17. bass — the fish
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. sharp — clever
  22. mine — for digging
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. sharp — exactly

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