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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. mine — for digging
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. bass — low music
  5. net — in sport
  6. swing — music
  7. key — for a lock
  8. net — for catching
  9. key — the most important part
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. swing — in golf
  12. key — in music
  13. land — a country
  14. swing — to play on
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. chair — a leader
  18. net — after costs
  19. bass — the fish
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. rest — a break
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rest — what's left
  24. land — to come down

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