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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. land — to come down
  3. land — a country
  4. bass — low music
  5. land — ground
  6. bound — certain
  7. spring — the season
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. bass — the fish
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — of water
  13. cell — in biology
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. cell — a phone
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. bound — tied together
  18. bound — obliged

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