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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. bear — the animal
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. craft — a skill
  5. chip — for betting
  6. craft — boats
  7. wind — moving air
  8. pop — soda
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. pop — music
  11. land — a country
  12. chip — to eat
  13. land — to come down
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. shower — to wash
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. bear — the animal
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. shower — rain
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. foot — a measure
  23. pop — to visit
  24. wind — moving air

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