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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. land — a country
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. cold — not warm
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. spring — a coil
  7. rock — a stone
  8. present — a gift
  9. land — to come down
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. land — ground
  13. present — there
  14. cold — an illness
  15. spring — of water
  16. rock — music
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. chip — to eat
  19. chip — for betting
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. spring — the season
  24. bowl — a dish

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