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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.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. land — ground
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. last — final
  5. drill — the tool
  6. drill — army training
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. lean — thin
  9. land — to come down
  10. rest — what's left
  11. last — finally
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. rest — what's left
  14. drill — a practice
  15. lean — to bend
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. last — to go on
  18. rest — a break

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