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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. suit — in cards
  3. track — to keep track
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. scale — size or range
  6. scale — in music
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. suit — to fit
  10. mine — for digging
  11. track — a path
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. suit — clothes
  15. track — a song
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. land — ground
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. land — to come down
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. scale — for weighing

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