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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. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. land — a country
  4. last — final
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. fine — high quality
  11. wind — moving air
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. tube — the underground
  14. land — to come down
  15. perch — the fish
  16. wind — moving air
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. tube — a container
  22. last — finally
  23. fine — all right
  24. last — to go on

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