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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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. land — a country
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. land — to come down
  6. bass — the fish
  7. rule — government
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. chest — a box
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. rule — a law
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. land — ground
  18. mine — for digging
  19. bass — low music
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. chest — of your body
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. rush — hurry

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