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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. hand — help
  3. saw — the tool
  4. march — music
  5. tear — to rip
  6. tear — from crying
  7. stem — to come from
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. march — the month
  10. tear — from crying
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. land — to come down
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. land — ground
  20. perch — the fish
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. march — the month
  23. saw — the tool
  24. hand — in cards

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