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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. mug — a face
  4. spring — of water
  5. present — a gift
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. spring — a coil
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bat — the animal
  11. roll — a cake
  12. mine — for digging
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. roll — a list
  16. land — to come down
  17. land — a country
  18. spring — the season
  19. mug — a cup
  20. mug — to rob
  21. present — the time now
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. present — there
  24. land — ground

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