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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. land — a country
  3. land — ground
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. row — a line
  7. rash — hasty
  8. land — to come down
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. row — to paddle
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. cap — a hat
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. chair — a leader
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. cap — of ice
  23. cap — a lid
  24. rash — a series

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