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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. kid — child
  3. pop — soda
  4. lie — to recline
  5. pop — music
  6. last — to go on
  7. land — to come down
  8. snap — to click
  9. pop — to visit
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. last — finally
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. ground — crushed
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. land — ground
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. kid — to tease
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. ground — a position
  23. ground — the earth
  24. last — final

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