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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. can — to be able to
  3. mine — for digging
  4. land — ground
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. current — of water
  7. can — a tin
  8. land — to come down
  9. field — a subject
  10. stock — goods
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. deal — to handle
  14. current — electric
  15. can — a tin
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. field — for sport
  19. stock — shares
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a line of people
  22. current — happening now
  23. file — a tool
  24. field — farmland

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