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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. fine — all right
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. bass — the fish
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. land — to come down
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. bass — low music
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. row — to paddle
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. land — ground
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. land — a country
  17. scale — in music
  18. fine — high quality
  19. tube — a container
  20. row — a line
  21. tube — the underground
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. racket — for tennis

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