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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. land — to come down
  3. squash — to crush
  4. firm — a company
  5. field — farmland
  6. last — finally
  7. last — to go on
  8. field — a subject
  9. firm — decided
  10. stock — goods
  11. bound — obliged
  12. bound — tied together
  13. firm — steady
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. squash — the sport
  16. last — final
  17. bound — certain
  18. field — for sport
  19. spell — a short time
  20. stock — shares
  21. land — ground
  22. spell — magic
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. spell — letters

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