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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. bound — obliged
  4. bass — the fish
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. land — a country
  7. cap — a lid
  8. squash — the sport
  9. kid — child
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. cap — a hat
  12. bass — low music
  13. rule — government
  14. bound — tied together
  15. bound — certain
  16. land — to come down
  17. kid — to tease
  18. squash — to crush
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. pit — a hole
  21. cap — of ice
  22. rule — a law
  23. pit — in a race
  24. rule — to rule out

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