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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. bass — low music
  4. spell — letters
  5. spell — magic
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. snap — to click
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. bass — the fish
  10. mark — a grade
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. row — a line
  14. row — to paddle
  15. mark — a trace
  16. land — ground
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. pound — a weight
  19. spell — a short time
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. land — to come down
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. fork — in a road
  24. pound — to hit hard

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