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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 120 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. land — a country
  3. file — a tool
  4. bass — the fish
  5. hand — help
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. mug — a cup
  9. mug — a face
  10. craft — boats
  11. bank — for money
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. craft — a skill
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. bass — low music
  16. land — to come down
  17. file — a line of people
  18. mug — to rob
  19. bank — for money
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. bank — of a river
  22. land — ground
  23. hand — in cards
  24. file — a document

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