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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. land — a country
  4. land — ground
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. fork — in a road
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — the tool
  10. firm — decided
  11. cold — not warm
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. firm — a company
  15. row — a line
  16. fine — all right
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. land — to come down
  19. ball — a dance
  20. row — to paddle
  21. cold — an illness
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. firm — steady
  24. ball — a great time

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