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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. wake — a trail
  4. game — a match
  5. face — to confront
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. cue — a hint
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. row — to paddle
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. cue — for pool
  13. cue — a signal
  14. land — to come down
  15. row — a line
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. face — part of the head
  18. face — to point toward
  19. game — wild animals
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. pound — a weight
  24. land — ground

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