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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 120 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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. object — a thing
  3. pass — a permit
  4. shower — rain
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mine — for digging
  7. object — an aim
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. ground — crushed
  12. ground — the earth
  13. land — a country
  14. shower — to wash
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. ground — a position
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. object — to protest
  19. branch — a division
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. straw — a straw man
  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