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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. firm — steady
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. land — ground
  6. lean — thin
  7. mine — for digging
  8. firm — a company
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. game — a match
  12. firm — decided
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. wound — an injury
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. wound — an injury
  17. lean — to bend
  18. dip — to sink
  19. land — to come down
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. game — wild animals
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. land — a country
  24. dip — a sauce

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