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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 120 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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. land — a country
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. cold — not warm
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. key — in music
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. pitch — completely
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. dip — to sink
  14. tube — a container
  15. tube — the underground
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. cold — an illness
  18. key — the most important part
  19. key — for a lock
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. mine — for digging
  22. land — to come down
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. dip — to dunk

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