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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. fall — to drop
  6. chest — a box
  7. row — a line
  8. chip — for betting
  9. land — to come down
  10. ball — a dance
  11. chip — to eat
  12. chest — of your body
  13. fall — to drop
  14. row — to paddle
  15. bass — the fish
  16. chest — of your body
  17. land — ground
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. craft — boats
  20. craft — a skill
  21. land — a country
  22. fall — the season
  23. ball — a great time
  24. chip — in a computer

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