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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 words: he'll be late again.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. spring — a coil
  6. tube — a container
  7. spring — the season
  8. rock — a stone
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. mark — a grade
  12. rest — what's left
  13. land — to come down
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — a break
  16. land — ground
  17. cell — a phone
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. cell — in biology
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. tube — the underground
  22. rock — music
  23. spring — of water
  24. mark — a trace

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