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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
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: bass · current · wind · bat · stem · racket · land · lie

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. land — a country
  3. land — to come down
  4. lie — to recline
  5. land — ground
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. bat — the animal
  16. current — of water
  17. bass — low music
  18. wind — moving air
  19. stem — to come from
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. bass — the fish
  23. current — electric
  24. current — happening now

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