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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. scale — size or range
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. present — there
  5. present — a gift
  6. land — to come down
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. hand — help
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. land — a country
  11. degree — an amount
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. scale — in music
  15. present — the time now
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. hand — in cards
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. degree — from a university
  22. degree — temperature
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. rush — hurry

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