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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. land — ground
  3. land — a country
  4. lean — thin
  5. can — a tin
  6. can — to be able to
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. kid — to tease
  11. can — a tin
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. cell — in biology
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. spring — of water
  16. kid — child
  17. lean — to bend
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. cell — a phone
  20. land — to come down
  21. spring — a coil
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. cell — in a prison

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