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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: bay · hand · roll · saw · bass · bat · board · row

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. saw — the tool
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. bass — the fish
  6. saw — the tool
  7. bass — low music
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. roll — a cake
  13. row — a line
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. board — to get on
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. roll — a list
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. hand — in cards
  21. row — to paddle
  22. board — a committee
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. row — a quarrel

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