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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. lie — to recline
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. rock — a stone
  7. cold — an illness
  8. band — a music group
  9. land — to come down
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. cold — not warm
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. bound — obliged
  15. land — ground
  16. bound — tied together
  17. pitch — completely
  18. rock — music
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. bound — certain
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. band — a ring
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. leaves — to go away

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