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

Word bank: cell · rule · wind · bat · swing · bass · track · land

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. wind — moving air
  3. land — to come down
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. bass — the fish
  6. cell — a phone
  7. track — to keep track
  8. land — ground
  9. track — a path
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. swing — music
  14. swing — to play on
  15. bass — low music
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. bat — the animal
  18. cell — in biology
  19. rule — a law
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. rule — government
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. land — a country
  24. swing — in golf

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