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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. land — a country
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. shower — to wash
  9. row — a line
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. row — to paddle
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. land — ground
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. shower — rain
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. land — to come down
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. chair — a leader
  23. wound — an injury
  24. temple — a place of worship

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