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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. land — a country
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. land — ground
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. board — a committee
  8. chair — a leader
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. mine — for digging
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. prune — to trim
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. cap — a lid
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. prune — to trim
  18. board — to get on
  19. cap — a hat
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. shower — rain
  22. shower — to wash
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. land — to come down

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