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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 preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. lean — to bend
  7. land — ground
  8. pitch — completely
  9. hand — help
  10. march — the month
  11. march — music
  12. rush — hurry
  13. lean — thin
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. land — to come down
  16. ball — a dance
  17. scale — size or range
  18. scale — in music
  19. ball — a great time
  20. march — the month
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. hand — in cards
  24. ball — a round shape

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