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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. spring — a coil
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. bank — of a river
  5. can — to be able to
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. roll — a list
  8. roll — a cake
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. can — a tin
  12. spring — of water
  13. cell — a phone
  14. bank — for money
  15. bank — for money
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cell — in biology
  18. land — to come down
  19. land — ground
  20. wax — to grow
  21. spring — the season
  22. can — a tin
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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