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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. land — to come down
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. row — to paddle
  6. bass — the fish
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. land — a country
  12. row — a line
  13. stock — shares
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. land — ground
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. dip — to sink
  19. clip — to cut
  20. stock — goods
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. clip — for paper
  23. clip — a video
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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