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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 116 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 don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. land — a country
  4. bass — low music
  5. bass — the fish
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. cold — an illness
  9. shower — to wash
  10. land — ground
  11. shower — rain
  12. land — to come down
  13. cold — not warm
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. fine — all right
  16. net — in sport
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. fine — high quality
  20. net — for catching
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. rock — a stone
  23. rock — music
  24. net — after costs

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