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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. mine — for digging
  3. net — for catching
  4. land — a country
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. bass — low music
  10. land — to come down
  11. net — in sport
  12. fall — the season
  13. land — ground
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. net — after costs
  17. fall — to drop
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — the fish
  20. fall — to drop
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. bass — the fish
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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