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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. perch — the fish
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. land — to come down
  5. land — a country
  6. sharp — clever
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. file — a document
  9. stem — to come from
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. land — ground
  14. rash — hasty
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. file — a line of people
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. file — a tool
  24. temple — a place of worship

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