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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. chip — to eat
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. pop — soda
  7. field — a subject
  8. bear — the animal
  9. land — to come down
  10. field — farmland
  11. field — for sport
  12. file — a tool
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. file — a line of people
  15. toast — bread
  16. bear — the animal
  17. pop — music
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. chip — for betting
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. pop — to visit
  22. land — ground
  23. file — a document
  24. coach — a trainer

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