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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. swing — in golf
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. spring — the season
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. bass — low music
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. spring — of water
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — a match
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. swing — to play on
  14. bass — the fish
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. land — ground
  18. game — wild animals
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. swing — music
  21. snap — to click
  22. land — to come down
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. spring — a coil

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