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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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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: bowl · chip · cold · mark · bass · swing · pass · net

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. cold — not warm
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. bass — the fish
  7. chip — for betting
  8. swing — in golf
  9. cold — an illness
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. mark — a grade
  12. swing — to play on
  13. net — for catching
  14. net — after costs
  15. swing — music
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. chip — to eat
  19. mark — a trace
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. net — in sport
  24. pass — a permit

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