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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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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: wind · bulb · race · bass · land · wake · pitch · nail

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. land — to come down
  8. wind — moving air
  9. race — humankind
  10. bulb — for light
  11. race — the arms race
  12. race — a contest
  13. bulb — for light
  14. land — ground
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. bass — the fish
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bass — low music
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. land — a country

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