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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. land — a country
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. key — in music
  7. object — an aim
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. object — a thing
  10. key — for a lock
  11. bass — low music
  12. cold — an illness
  13. object — to protest
  14. land — to come down
  15. band — a ring
  16. scale — size or range
  17. key — the most important part
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. band — a music group
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. bass — the fish
  23. scale — in music
  24. land — ground

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