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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 116 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 took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. degree — an amount
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. land — ground
  10. cap — a lid
  11. pound — a weight
  12. last — to go on
  13. degree — from a university
  14. last — finally
  15. cold — an illness
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. cap — of ice
  18. cap — a hat
  19. cold — not warm
  20. land — to come down
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. degree — temperature
  24. last — final

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