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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. plane — a tool
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. land — to come down
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. wind — moving air
  9. land — a country
  10. stock — shares
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. press — a publisher
  14. mine — for digging
  15. stock — goods
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. press — newspapers
  18. land — ground
  19. chip — to eat
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. chip — for betting
  23. press — to push
  24. temple — side of the head

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