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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 · can · cue · wake · mate · board · chest · bass

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. mate — a friend
  3. land — a country
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. mate — to breed
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. chest — of your body
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. wake — a trail
  10. bass — the fish
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. board — a committee
  13. chest — of your body
  14. mate — a partner
  15. can — a tin
  16. cue — for pool
  17. cue — a signal
  18. land — to come down
  19. board — to get on
  20. cue — a hint
  21. can — to be able to
  22. chest — a box
  23. can — a tin
  24. bass — low music

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