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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. bulb — for light
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. wound — an injury
  6. squash — to crush
  7. rule — government
  8. bass — low music
  9. land — to come down
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. bulb — for light
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. rush — hurry
  15. squash — the sport
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — moving air
  20. land — a country
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. bass — the fish
  23. rule — a law
  24. wind — to turn a key

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