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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. board — to get on
  3. chip — to eat
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. land — a country
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. kick — in football
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. chip — for betting
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. wind — moving air
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. board — a committee
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. land — ground
  24. bat — the animal

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