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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. land — ground
  6. shower — rain
  7. spell — a short time
  8. rock — music
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. rock — a stone
  11. fine — high quality
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. spell — magic
  14. mine — for digging
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. shower — to wash
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. spell — letters
  20. fine — all right
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. land — to come down
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. straw — dry grass

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