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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · bass · mine · dip · kid · hand · key · rule

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. land — ground
  4. hand — help
  5. land — to come down
  6. dip — to sink
  7. rule — government
  8. kid — child
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. key — for a lock
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. kid — to tease
  15. mine — for digging
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. rule — a law
  18. key — in music
  19. key — the most important part
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. bass — low music
  22. land — a country
  23. bass — the fish
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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