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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 120 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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. rush — hurry
  3. staff — employees
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. staff — a stick
  6. land — a country
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. chip — for betting
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. mine — for digging
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. season — in sport
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. wound — an injury
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. staff — employees
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. land — to come down
  22. chip — to eat
  23. land — ground
  24. season — of the year

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