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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 got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. cell — a phone
  3. land — a country
  4. land — to come down
  5. clip — a video
  6. suit — to fit
  7. clip — for paper
  8. fine — high quality
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. cell — in biology
  12. bass — low music
  13. land — ground
  14. suit — clothes
  15. bass — the fish
  16. clip — to cut
  17. suit — in cards
  18. row — a line
  19. row — to paddle
  20. wax — to grow
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. fine — all right
  24. row — a quarrel

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