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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. land — ground
  3. track — a path
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. present — a gift
  8. present — the time now
  9. stem — to come from
  10. last — final
  11. court — for sport
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. present — there
  14. track — to keep track
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. last — finally
  17. track — a song
  18. last — to go on
  19. court — of a king
  20. land — to come down
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. court — of law

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