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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. wound — an injury
  5. vault — a safe
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. wound — an injury
  8. chair — a leader
  9. land — ground
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. wake — a trail
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. chest — a box
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. chest — of your body
  19. pound — a weight
  20. land — to come down
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. craft — boats
  23. craft — a skill
  24. craft — a handicraft

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