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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. land — a country
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. swing — to play on
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. swing — music
  8. bass — low music
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. degree — an amount
  11. pop — to visit
  12. lean — to bend
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. pop — music
  16. swing — in golf
  17. lean — thin
  18. degree — from a university
  19. land — ground
  20. pop — soda
  21. degree — temperature
  22. land — to come down
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. bass — the fish

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