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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. field — for sport
  6. board — to get on
  7. land — ground
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. land — to come down
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. cue — a hint
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. cue — for pool
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. field — farmland
  17. cue — a signal
  18. snap — to click
  19. board — a committee
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. mine — for digging
  23. field — a subject
  24. racket — a loud noise

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