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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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. land — ground
  6. fall — the season
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. date — the fruit
  11. fall — to drop
  12. prune — to trim
  13. ground — the earth
  14. ground — a position
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. ground — crushed
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. cue — a hint
  20. land — to come down
  21. cue — for pool
  22. cue — a signal
  23. fall — to drop
  24. kick — in football

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