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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 120 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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. land — to come down
  5. spring — a coil
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. spring — the season
  11. land — a country
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. sharp — clever
  14. mine — for digging
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. spring — of water
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. pass — a permit
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. land — ground
  24. pass — to spend time

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