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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. firm — decided
  5. land — ground
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. date — the fruit
  10. track — to keep track
  11. fall — to drop
  12. firm — steady
  13. track — a song
  14. bass — the fish
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. fall — the season
  17. track — a path
  18. firm — a company
  19. wake — a trail
  20. land — to come down
  21. fall — to drop
  22. bass — low music
  23. bat — the animal
  24. wake — before a funeral

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