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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. cell — in biology
  3. land — a country
  4. bank — of a river
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. cell — a phone
  7. bank — for money
  8. bear — the animal
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. cold — an illness
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. bank — for money
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. rash — hasty
  16. ball — a great time
  17. ball — a dance
  18. bear — the animal
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. rash — a series
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. land — to come down
  24. cold — not warm

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