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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. land — ground
  3. rash — hasty
  4. land — a country
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. cell — a phone
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. bound — tied together
  9. cap — a lid
  10. cap — of ice
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. land — to come down
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. rash — a series
  17. bound — obliged
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. kick — in football
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. cap — a hat
  23. bound — certain
  24. cell — in a prison

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