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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  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. bass — low music
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. land — ground
  4. land — a country
  5. field — farmland
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cap — of ice
  8. cap — a hat
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. stand — to bear
  11. cap — a lid
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. bass — the fish
  14. field — a subject
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. field — for sport
  19. land — to come down
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. row — a line
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. row — to paddle
  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