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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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. coach — pulled by horses
  4. suit — clothes
  5. clip — a video
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. track — a path
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. land — to come down
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. track — to keep track
  12. clip — for paper
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. track — a song
  15. suit — in cards
  16. clip — to cut
  17. net — after costs
  18. field — a subject
  19. suit — to fit
  20. net — in sport
  21. pound — a weight
  22. net — for catching
  23. field — for sport
  24. field — farmland

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