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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. pit — a hole
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. pit — in a race
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. shower — rain
  12. land — to come down
  13. dip — to sink
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. pound — a weight
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. land — ground
  20. shower — to wash
  21. clip — to cut
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. clip — for paper
  24. clip — a video

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