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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. land — to come down
  3. perch — the fish
  4. bass — the fish
  5. lean — thin
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. lean — to bend
  11. mate — a friend
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. land — a country
  14. land — ground
  15. drill — army training
  16. drill — the tool
  17. saw — the tool
  18. drill — a practice
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. mate — a partner
  21. mate — to breed
  22. saw — the tool
  23. stock — goods
  24. stock — shares

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