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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. drill — army training
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. land — ground
  8. drill — the tool
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. rash — hasty
  11. saw — the tool
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. bass — low music
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. tube — the underground
  16. tube — a container
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. rash — a series
  19. bass — the fish
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. saw — the tool
  23. land — to come down
  24. drill — a practice

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