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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 120 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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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: rash · cell · fork · pound · chair · bowl · lie · bass

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. fork — in a road
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. bass — low music
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. bass — the fish
  12. pound — a weight
  13. rash — a series
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. chair — a leader
  17. cell — in biology
  18. rash — hasty
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. cell — a phone
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. lie — to recline
  24. bowl — a football final

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