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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. tear — from crying
  3. wound — an injury
  4. fall — to drop
  5. wound — an injury
  6. staff — employees
  7. rush — hurry
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. tear — from crying
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. staff — employees
  13. fall — the season
  14. bass — low music
  15. bass — the fish
  16. cell — a phone
  17. land — to come down
  18. tear — to rip
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. fall — to drop
  23. land — ground
  24. staff — a stick

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