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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. fall — the season
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. charge — in control
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. game — wild animals
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. land — a country
  10. fall — to drop
  11. charge — a price
  12. cue — a hint
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. cue — a signal
  15. game — a match
  16. bat — the animal
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. bass — low music
  19. sharp — clever
  20. land — to come down
  21. charge — electricity
  22. fall — to drop
  23. bass — the fish
  24. cue — for pool

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