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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. file — a document
  6. row — a line
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. season — in sport
  9. file — a tool
  10. face — part of the head
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. face — to point toward
  13. face — to confront
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. mate — to breed
  16. file — a line of people
  17. land — ground
  18. land — to come down
  19. mate — a friend
  20. mate — a partner
  21. perch — the fish
  22. row — to paddle
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. season — of the year

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