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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. bass — the fish
  3. club — for dancing
  4. land — ground
  5. roll — a list
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. cell — in biology
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. club — for golf
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. stand — to bear
  16. cell — a phone
  17. wound — an injury
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. bass — low music
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. roll — a cake
  23. club — a group
  24. land — a country

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