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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. mate — a partner
  3. fall — to drop
  4. land — to come down
  5. mate — a friend
  6. bass — low music
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. mate — to breed
  9. bass — the fish
  10. date — the fruit
  11. swing — in golf
  12. swing — music
  13. swing — to play on
  14. fall — to drop
  15. land — a country
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. land — ground

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