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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. game — wild animals
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. bass — the fish
  6. cold — an illness
  7. dip — to sink
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. bass — low music
  12. land — ground
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. game — a match
  17. land — to come down
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. foot — a measure
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. kick — in football

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