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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. saw — the tool
  3. tear — from crying
  4. pound — a weight
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. current — electric
  8. object — to protest
  9. wind — moving air
  10. season — in sport
  11. wind — moving air
  12. land — to come down
  13. tear — to rip
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. season — of the year
  16. land — ground
  17. object — a thing
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. tear — from crying
  20. current — of water
  21. current — happening now
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. object — an aim

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