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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. land — a country
  3. pop — music
  4. land — to come down
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. track — a path
  7. bass — the fish
  8. mark — a trace
  9. pop — soda
  10. track — to keep track
  11. fork — in a road
  12. spell — magic
  13. spell — a short time
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. track — a song
  20. pop — to visit
  21. mark — a grade
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. spell — letters
  24. bass — low music

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