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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. charge — electricity
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. land — to come down
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. spring — of water
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. wake — a trail
  12. spring — the season
  13. bass — the fish
  14. land — ground
  15. charge — a price
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. wound — an injury
  18. spring — a coil
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. bass — low music
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. charge — in control
  24. wave — of the sea

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