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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. cold — an illness
  3. land — ground
  4. board — to get on
  5. mate — to breed
  6. mark — a trace
  7. board — a committee
  8. current — happening now
  9. land — to come down
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. mark — a grade
  12. cold — not warm
  13. mate — a friend
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. mate — a partner
  16. wound — an injury
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. current — electric
  21. current — of water
  22. wound — an injury
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. mark — to pay attention

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