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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. band — a ring
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. face — to confront
  8. row — a line
  9. land — to come down
  10. band — a music group
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. face — to point toward
  13. present — a gift
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. present — the time now
  17. land — ground
  18. face — part of the head
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. present — there
  21. row — to paddle
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. pass — a permit
  24. snap — to click

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