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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. land — a country
  3. shower — rain
  4. land — to come down
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. shower — to wash
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. spring — the season
  9. kid — to tease
  10. stock — goods
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. kid — child
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. court — for sport
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. spring — a coil
  17. stock — shares
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. court — of law
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. land — ground
  24. court — of a king

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