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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. land — a country
  3. land — ground
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. hand — in cards
  6. sharp — clever
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. race — a contest
  9. race — the arms race
  10. land — to come down
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. hand — help
  14. race — humankind
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. pop — music
  18. pop — to visit
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. bass — the fish
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. pop — soda
  23. lie — to recline
  24. sharp — exactly

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