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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 116 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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. wind — moving air
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. net — for catching
  6. tube — the underground
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. land — ground
  9. tube — a container
  10. net — in sport
  11. net — after costs
  12. chip — for betting
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. chair — a leader
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. land — to come down
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. vault — a safe
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. wind — moving air
  23. chip — to eat
  24. chip — in a computer

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