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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. land — a country
  3. mug — a cup
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. spring — the season
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. fork — in a road
  9. mug — to rob
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. pit — a hole
  14. wax — to grow
  15. spring — of water
  16. hand — help
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. land — ground
  21. spring — a coil
  22. hand — in cards
  23. pit — in a race
  24. land — to come down

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