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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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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. land — a country
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. squash — to crush
  5. firm — decided
  6. land — ground
  7. wake — a trail
  8. squash — the sport
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. cell — in biology
  12. land — to come down
  13. firm — steady
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. cell — a phone

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