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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. pop — to visit
  3. land — to come down
  4. pop — soda
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. bound — tied together
  7. saw — the tool
  8. saw — the tool
  9. bass — low music
  10. land — a country
  11. pop — music
  12. club — a group
  13. bound — certain
  14. club — for golf
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. bass — the fish
  19. bound — obliged
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. wind — moving air
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. club — for dancing

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