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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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: bat · cue · land · rule · craft · mine · foot · bass

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. craft — a skill
  3. rule — a law
  4. foot — a measure
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. land — a country
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. rule — government
  14. cue — a hint
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. cue — a signal
  17. bat — the animal
  18. land — ground
  19. bass — the fish
  20. craft — boats
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. mine — for digging
  23. land — to come down
  24. cue — for pool

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