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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'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. tube — the underground
  3. stand — to bear
  4. season — in sport
  5. band — a music group
  6. mine — for digging
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. land — ground
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. wax — to grow
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. band — a ring
  16. rule — a law
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. tube — a container
  20. rule — government
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. season — of the year
  23. land — to come down
  24. mine — an explosive

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