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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.

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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. land — a country
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. field — for sport
  5. land — ground
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. can — to be able to
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. field — farmland
  10. spell — letters
  11. field — a subject
  12. cold — an illness
  13. can — a tin
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. can — a tin
  16. spell — magic
  17. cold — not warm
  18. spell — a short time

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