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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ground — the earth
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. land — ground
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. bore — to tire
  8. bat — the animal
  9. cold — an illness
  10. mug — a cup
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. mug — to rob
  15. craft — boats
  16. craft — a skill
  17. mug — a face
  18. land — to come down
  19. bore — to drill
  20. ground — a position
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — the Cold War

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