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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 116 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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. sharp — clever
  3. spring — the season
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. stem — to come from
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. land — to come down
  9. spring — a coil
  10. degree — from a university
  11. degree — temperature
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. net — after costs
  14. spring — of water
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. track — to keep track
  17. net — in sport
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. track — a path
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. degree — an amount
  22. land — ground
  23. net — for catching
  24. track — a song

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