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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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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: land · pop · lash · rush · scale · bay · tear · chest

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. land — to come down
  3. chest — of your body
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. pop — music
  6. tear — from crying
  7. chest — a box
  8. tear — from crying
  9. land — ground
  10. chest — of your body
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. scale — in music
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. scale — size or range
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. rush — hurry
  19. pop — soda
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. tear — to rip
  23. pop — to visit
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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