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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. land — ground
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. land — to come down
  6. bass — the fish
  7. cap — a lid
  8. drill — a practice
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. firm — steady
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. firm — a company
  14. drill — the tool
  15. land — a country
  16. row — a line
  17. firm — decided
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. fork — in a road
  20. drill — army training
  21. row — to paddle
  22. cap — of ice
  23. cap — a hat
  24. kick — in football

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