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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 120 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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. bass — low music
  3. spell — a short time
  4. shower — rain
  5. spell — letters
  6. land — a country
  7. stock — goods
  8. stock — shares
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. row — to paddle
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. chair — a leader
  15. spell — magic
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. bass — the fish
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. land — to come down
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. land — ground
  24. shower — to wash

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