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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. land — a country
  6. band — a ring
  7. land — to come down
  8. date — the fruit
  9. land — ground
  10. bass — the fish
  11. band — a music group
  12. track — a path
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. season — in sport
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. season — of the year
  18. track — to keep track
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. rush — hurry
  24. track — a song

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