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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ground — a position
  4. bass — the fish
  5. land — ground
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. dip — to sink
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. bound — tied together
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. land — a country
  14. mine — for digging
  15. craft — a skill
  16. land — to come down
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. bound — certain
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. bound — obliged
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. bass — low music
  24. ground — the earth

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