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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. That must've been a ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. drill — army training
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. rush — hurry
  6. suit — to fit
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. suit — in cards
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. land — ground
  12. scale — size or range
  13. drill — the tool
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. scale — in music
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. land — to come down
  18. suit — clothes
  19. stem — to come from
  20. drill — a practice
  21. shower — to wash
  22. perch — the fish
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. shower — rain

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