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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. land — a country
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. field — a subject
  5. charge — a price
  6. dip — to sink
  7. land — ground
  8. charge — in control
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. march — the month
  11. field — for sport
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. last — finally
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — from crying
  16. march — music
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. march — the month
  19. last — to go on
  20. tear — to rip
  21. land — to come down
  22. field — farmland
  23. charge — electricity
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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