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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. bass — low music
  3. cold — not warm
  4. suit — in cards
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. mark — a trace
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. suit — to fit
  10. land — to come down
  11. mark — a grade
  12. bound — tied together
  13. bass — the fish
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. land — ground
  19. suit — clothes
  20. bound — obliged
  21. cold — an illness
  22. stem — to come from
  23. bound — certain
  24. bat — in an idiom

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