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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. stock — shares
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. chair — a leader
  7. bore — to drill
  8. land — ground
  9. bore — to tire
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. wake — a trail
  12. wound — an injury
  13. row — to paddle
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. stock — goods
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. land — to come down
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. row — a line
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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