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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. charge — electricity
  4. land — to come down
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. land — a country
  8. wind — moving air
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bass — the fish
  13. charge — in control
  14. charge — a price
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wind — moving air
  17. date — the fruit
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. land — ground
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bass — low music

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