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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: bass · mate · hide · game · board · chip · cold · swing

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. board — to get on
  4. bass — low music
  5. cold — an illness
  6. bass — the fish
  7. chip — to eat
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. game — a match
  10. mate — to breed
  11. cold — not warm
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. game — wild animals
  15. swing — in golf
  16. mate — a friend
  17. board — a committee
  18. swing — music
  19. chip — for betting
  20. mate — a partner
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. swing — to play on
  24. hide — animal skin

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