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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. track — a song
  3. net — for catching
  4. club — for dancing
  5. kick — in football
  6. bat — the animal
  7. net — after costs
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. band — a ring
  10. land — ground
  11. land — to come down
  12. land — a country
  13. track — to keep track
  14. bass — the fish
  15. club — for golf
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bass — low music
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. net — in sport
  22. club — a group
  23. track — a path
  24. kick — with a leg

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