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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: march · hand · bass · arm · track · rule · land · chip

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. rule — government
  3. hand — help
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. hand — in cards
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. rule — a law
  8. track — a path
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. track — a song
  11. march — the month
  12. march — music
  13. chip — for betting
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. chip — to eat
  17. bass — the fish
  18. track — to keep track
  19. land — a country
  20. land — ground
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. bass — low music
  24. march — the month

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