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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: nail · land · roll · pass · bass · court · fan · rash

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. pass — a permit
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. land — a country
  8. roll — a cake
  9. land — to come down
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. court — of law
  14. court — for sport
  15. rash — hasty
  16. land — ground
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. court — of a king
  19. rash — a series
  20. bass — the fish
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. roll — a list
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. pass — to spend time

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