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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. pit — in a race
  5. mine — for digging
  6. date — the fruit
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. land — a country
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. mate — a friend
  12. mate — a partner
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. mate — to breed
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. row — to paddle
  17. pit — a hole
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. row — a line
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. land — to come down
  24. leaves — lets stay

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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