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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 was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. wind — moving air
  3. spell — letters
  4. current — happening now
  5. can — a tin
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. spell — magic
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. land — ground
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. stock — shares
  15. stock — goods
  16. can — a tin
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. can — to be able to
  19. land — to come down
  20. current — electric
  21. current — of water
  22. spell — a short time
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. wind — moving air

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