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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. land — a country
  4. lean — thin
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. bass — low music
  8. lean — to bend
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. field — a subject
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. land — to come down
  14. bass — the fish
  15. kick — in football
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. stand — to bear
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. field — farmland
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. wake — a trail
  24. field — for sport

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