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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. swing — to play on
  5. land — a country
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — a box
  8. land — to come down
  9. row — a line
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. row — to paddle
  14. chest — of your body
  15. swing — in golf
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. squash — to crush
  18. bear — the animal
  19. swing — music
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. squash — the sport
  23. mine — for digging
  24. bear — the animal

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