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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. can — a tin
  4. object — an aim
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. foot — a measure
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. spring — of water
  11. object — a thing
  12. spring — the season
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. plane — a tool
  15. can — to be able to
  16. land — ground
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. spring — a coil
  20. land — to come down
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. object — to protest
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. can — a tin

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