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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 120 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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. land — ground
  3. land — a country
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. mug — to rob
  6. mark — a trace
  7. mug — a face
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. land — to come down
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. shower — rain
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. mug — a cup
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. mine — for digging
  21. snap — to click
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. mark — a grade
  24. hide — to keep secret

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