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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: sharp · bowl · cold · bass · band · mate · hand · mark

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. mate — a partner
  5. mark — a grade
  6. hand — in cards
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. band — a music group
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. band — a ring
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — not warm
  13. bass — the fish
  14. mark — a trace
  15. mate — to breed
  16. hand — help
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. mate — a friend
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. sharp — clever
  24. hand — part of the body

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