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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. net — in sport
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. net — for catching
  9. season — of the year
  10. march — music
  11. land — to come down
  12. march — the month
  13. last — finally
  14. march — the month
  15. net — after costs
  16. last — final
  17. last — to go on
  18. season — in sport
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. cell — in biology
  23. land — ground
  24. cell — a phone

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