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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. chip — to eat
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. chip — for betting
  5. land — to come down
  6. land — ground
  7. land — a country
  8. track — a song
  9. march — the month
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. spring — the season
  12. track — a path
  13. spring — a coil
  14. fall — to drop
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. spring — of water
  17. march — the month
  18. track — to keep track
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. march — music
  21. mine — for digging
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — the season
  24. leaves — to go away

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