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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. net — in sport
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. shower — rain
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. land — to come down
  10. sharp — clever
  11. lie — to recline
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. bark — to shout
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. net — after costs
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — to wash
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. net — for catching
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. land — ground
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. pitcher — a jug

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