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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. land — a country
  6. chair — a leader
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. sharp — clever
  11. pass — a permit
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. land — to come down
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. saw — the tool
  16. snap — to click
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. saw — the tool

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