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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. shower — to wash
  3. chair — a leader
  4. land — ground
  5. stem — to come from
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. mug — to rob
  8. season — of the year
  9. land — to come down
  10. fall — the season
  11. season — in sport
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. shower — rain
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. fall — to drop
  16. mug — a face
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. mug — a cup
  22. fall — to drop
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. trunk — of a car

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