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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. chest — a box
  3. stem — to come from
  4. foot — a measure
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. swing — to play on
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. chest — of your body
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. chest — of your body
  12. file — a document
  13. file — a tool
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. swing — in golf
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. land — ground
  19. pitch — completely
  20. land — to come down
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. file — a line of people
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. swing — music

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