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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. lie — to recline
  3. land — a country
  4. plane — a tool
  5. cold — an illness
  6. wake — a trail
  7. bass — low music
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. land — ground
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. bass — the fish
  14. cold — not warm
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. land — to come down
  24. leaves — lets stay

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