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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 116 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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. club — for dancing
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. land — a country
  5. clip — to cut
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. pass — a permit
  10. clip — a video
  11. squash — to crush
  12. squash — the sport
  13. shower — rain
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. club — for golf
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. wound — an injury
  19. clip — for paper
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. land — to come down
  22. shower — to wash
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. club — a group

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