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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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 instrument
  3. march — the month
  4. land — a country
  5. land — ground
  6. game — wild animals
  7. game — a match
  8. clip — a video
  9. scale — size or range
  10. clip — for paper
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. bass — low music
  14. clip — to cut
  15. march — music
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. bass — the fish
  19. march — the month
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. scale — in music

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