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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. land — a country
  3. land — to come down
  4. degree — an amount
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. degree — from a university
  8. snap — to click
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. wound — an injury
  11. tear — to rip
  12. stem — to come from
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. tear — from crying
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. tear — from crying
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. degree — temperature
  24. wound — an injury

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