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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. track — to keep track
  3. mine — for digging
  4. cap — a hat
  5. bear — the animal
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. cap — of ice
  9. game — wild animals
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. land — to come down
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. season — in sport
  14. cap — a lid
  15. land — a country
  16. season — of the year
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. track — a path
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. game — a match
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. track — a song
  24. bear — the animal

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