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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. land — a country
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. squash — to crush
  7. land — ground
  8. rule — government
  9. rule — a law
  10. chair — a leader
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. land — to come down
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. mine — for digging
  19. spring — a coil
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. squash — the sport
  22. spring — the season
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. spring — of water

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