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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. degree — an amount
  3. charge — a price
  4. land — to come down
  5. charge — electricity
  6. craft — a skill
  7. mine — for digging
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. land — a country
  11. craft — boats
  12. charge — in control
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. snap — to click
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. stock — shares
  17. degree — from a university
  18. ball — a great time
  19. land — ground
  20. degree — temperature
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. stock — goods
  23. ball — a dance
  24. mine — belonging to me

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