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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. content — happy
  3. mug — to rob
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. mine — for digging
  6. land — to come down
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. cap — a lid
  9. craft — a skill
  10. clip — a video
  11. cue — a signal
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. cue — a hint
  14. cue — for pool
  15. clip — to cut
  16. mug — a cup
  17. clip — for paper
  18. cap — a hat
  19. land — ground
  20. cap — of ice
  21. craft — boats
  22. content — the amount
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mug — a face

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