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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. chip — to eat
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. land — to come down
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. cold — an illness
  8. pitch — completely
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. spell — a short time
  11. cold — not warm
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. spell — magic
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. land — ground
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. chip — for betting
  23. spell — letters
  24. hide — to keep secret

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