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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. rule — government
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. key — for a lock
  7. wound — an injury
  8. present — the time now
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. key — the most important part
  11. wind — moving air
  12. key — in music
  13. bass — the fish
  14. bass — low music
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. land — ground
  18. land — a country
  19. wound — an injury
  20. present — there
  21. land — to come down
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. rule — a law

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