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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. land — a country
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mine — for digging
  6. lean — thin
  7. chest — of your body
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wound — an injury
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. land — to come down
  14. land — ground
  15. chip — to eat
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. wound — an injury
  18. chest — of your body
  19. lean — to bend
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. stand — to bear
  22. chip — for betting
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. stand — for spectators

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