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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. land — a country
  3. land — to come down
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. mark — a grade
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. kid — child
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. land — ground
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. kid — to tease
  14. mark — a trace
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. rule — a law
  18. field — for sport
  19. field — a subject
  20. rash — a series
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. field — farmland
  24. rule — government

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