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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. rest — what's left
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. land — ground
  6. ball — a dance
  7. ball — a great time
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. rash — a series
  10. vault — a safe
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. cold — not warm
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. rest — what's left
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. branch — a division
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. rest — a break
  20. cold — an illness
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. land — to come down
  24. rash — hasty

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