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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. land — ground
  4. board — to get on
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. spring — the season
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. spring — a coil
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. kid — to tease
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. board — a committee
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. land — to come down
  18. fork — in a road
  19. spring — of water
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. kid — child

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