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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 124 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 hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. march — the month
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. current — electric
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. pitch — completely
  8. mine — for digging
  9. kick — in football
  10. current — happening now
  11. hand — in cards
  12. land — a country
  13. march — the month
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. hand — help
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. current — of water
  18. land — to come down
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. march — music
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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