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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  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. arm — part of the body
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. court — of law
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bass — low music
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. bat — the animal
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. land — a country
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. court — for sport
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. bass — the fish
  21. court — of a king
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. arm — part of the body
  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