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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. cap — a hat
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. saw — the tool
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. wound — an injury
  7. bass — the fish
  8. saw — the tool
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. land — ground
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. wound — an injury
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. bass — low music
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. cap — a lid
  21. pound — a weight
  22. land — a country
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. cap — of ice

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