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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. cap — a lid
  3. field — farmland
  4. land — to come down
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. last — final
  8. field — a subject
  9. land — ground
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. tear — from crying
  13. cap — a hat
  14. row — to paddle
  15. suit — in cards
  16. suit — clothes
  17. suit — to fit
  18. last — to go on
  19. field — for sport
  20. cap — of ice
  21. tear — from crying
  22. row — a line
  23. tear — to rip
  24. land — a country

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