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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. mug — to rob
  4. scale — in music
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. tear — from crying
  9. mug — a face
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. mug — a cup
  12. tear — from crying
  13. ground — the earth
  14. lie — to recline
  15. ground — crushed
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. chair — a leader
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. scale — size or range
  20. tear — to rip
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. land — to come down
  23. land — ground
  24. ground — a position

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