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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 120 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
468
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 · pound · race · scale · fall · fan · lie

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. land — ground
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. scale — in music
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. bass — the fish
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. race — the arms race
  14. bass — low music
  15. fall — to drop
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. lie — to recline
  18. land — a country
  19. fall — the season
  20. race — humankind
  21. race — a contest
  22. fall — to drop
  23. scale — size or range
  24. pound — a weight

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