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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. land — ground
  5. ball — a dance
  6. row — to paddle
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. ball — a great time
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. mate — a friend
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. mark — a grade
  13. mate — to breed
  14. mark — a trace
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. row — a line
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. land — to come down
  20. mate — a partner
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. hand — in cards
  23. hand — help
  24. row — a quarrel

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