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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mine — for digging
  4. land — ground
  5. sharp — clever
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. row — to paddle
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. bass — low music
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. land — a country
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. branch — a division
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. rock — a stone
  18. rock — music
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. land — to come down
  21. kick — in football
  22. row — a line
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. branch — of a bank

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