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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. spell — letters
  3. saw — the tool
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. stock — shares
  6. land — a country
  7. prune — to trim
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. saw — the tool
  13. mine — for digging
  14. land — to come down
  15. land — ground
  16. chip — for betting
  17. chip — to eat
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. spell — a short time
  20. staff — employees
  21. stock — goods
  22. spell — magic
  23. staff — a stick
  24. prune — to trim

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