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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. band — a music group
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. land — a country
  5. tear — from crying
  6. land — ground
  7. cap — a lid
  8. bass — the fish
  9. craft — boats
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. tear — from crying
  12. pound — a weight
  13. swing — music
  14. band — a ring
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. bass — low music
  17. craft — a skill
  18. tear — to rip
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. cap — of ice
  21. swing — in golf
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. cap — a hat
  24. swing — to play on

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