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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 116 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 · stick · key · face · bass · scale · pound · mate

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. key — for a lock
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. face — to confront
  5. mate — a friend
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. key — the most important part
  8. face — to point toward
  9. face — part of the head
  10. scale — size or range
  11. mate — to breed
  12. mate — a partner
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. pound — a weight
  16. bass — low music
  17. scale — in music
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. key — in music
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. land — to come down
  23. bass — the fish
  24. land — a country

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