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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. pass — a permit
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. hand — in cards
  8. wind — moving air
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. land — to come down
  14. mine — for digging
  15. degree — an amount
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. degree — from a university
  18. degree — temperature
  19. wind — moving air
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. land — ground
  24. land — a country

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