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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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. row — a line
  5. spring — a coil
  6. spring — the season
  7. land — to come down
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. chip — to eat
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. ball — a great time
  12. race — a contest
  13. race — humankind
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. race — the arms race
  17. chip — for betting
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. row — to paddle
  20. land — ground
  21. ball — a dance
  22. stem — to come from
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. spring — of water

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