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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 120 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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. land — a country
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. cell — in biology
  6. land — to come down
  7. land — ground
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. current — of water
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. current — electric
  14. bass — the fish
  15. cell — a phone
  16. wound — an injury
  17. band — a ring
  18. band — a music group
  19. plane — a tool
  20. snap — to click
  21. wound — an injury
  22. current — happening now
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. cell — in a prison

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