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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. ball — a great time
  3. chest — of your body
  4. land — a country
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. stock — shares
  7. stock — goods
  8. lean — thin
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. bass — low music
  11. land — to come down
  12. chest — a box
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. lean — to bend
  15. spring — of water
  16. pitch — completely
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. chest — of your body
  19. ball — a dance
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. spring — the season
  23. bass — the fish
  24. land — ground

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