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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. fine — all right
  3. date — the fruit
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. track — a song
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. wake — a trail
  8. track — a path
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. shower — rain
  11. fall — to drop
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. shower — to wash
  14. track — to keep track
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. land — ground
  17. land — to come down
  18. fall — the season
  19. fall — to drop
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. pitch — completely
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. fine — high quality

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