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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 120 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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  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. mine — belonging to me
  2. land — a country
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. chest — of your body
  7. land — ground
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. chest — a box
  10. mine — for digging
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. mark — a grade
  13. wake — a trail
  14. chest — of your body
  15. land — to come down
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. stand — to bear
  19. mark — a trace
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. stand — for spectators
  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