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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. wound — an injury
  3. land — a country
  4. fine — all right
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bass — low music
  7. row — a line
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. fine — high quality
  11. bass — the fish
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. march — the month
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. march — the month
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. land — ground
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. march — music
  24. land — to come down

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