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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. bass — low music
  3. land — ground
  4. land — a country
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. cue — a signal
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. cell — a phone
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. bass — the fish
  16. cell — in biology
  17. mine — for digging
  18. capital — money
  19. land — to come down
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. cue — for pool
  22. cue — a hint
  23. capital — a city
  24. leaves — of a tree

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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