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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. dip — to sink
  3. bat — the animal
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. land — a country
  7. drill — army training
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. firm — a company
  11. firm — steady
  12. drill — the tool
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. land — to come down
  15. drill — a practice
  16. firm — decided
  17. can — a tin
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. can — a tin
  20. can — to be able to
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. bat — for baseball

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