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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. rash — hasty
  3. land — ground
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. degree — from a university
  6. degree — temperature
  7. roll — a cake
  8. hand — in cards
  9. hand — help
  10. bank — for money
  11. snap — to click
  12. roll — a list
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. bank — for money
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. degree — an amount
  20. land — to come down
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. rash — a series
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. bank — of a river

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