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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. game — wild animals
  3. bass — low music
  4. land — ground
  5. shower — rain
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rest — a break
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. fine — all right
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. land — a country
  12. bear — the animal
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. bear — the animal
  15. wound — an injury
  16. game — a match
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. land — to come down
  19. rest — what's left
  20. shower — to wash
  21. fine — high quality
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. wound — an injury

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