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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. march — the month
  3. field — farmland
  4. land — ground
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. ball — a dance
  7. march — the month
  8. prune — to trim
  9. ball — a great time
  10. can — to be able to
  11. land — to come down
  12. field — for sport
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. chair — a leader
  18. march — music
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. can — a tin
  21. can — a tin
  22. prune — to trim
  23. field — a subject
  24. straw — a straw man

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