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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: mine · game · stand · drill · wind · fall · bass · land

  1. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. bass — low music
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bass — the fish
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. land — ground
  7. drill — the tool
  8. land — to come down
  9. drill — a practice
  10. game — wild animals
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. mine — for digging
  15. wind — moving air
  16. fall — the season
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. game — a match
  19. stand — to bear
  20. fall — to drop
  21. land — a country
  22. drill — army training
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. fall — to drop

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