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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. net — after costs
  3. squash — to crush
  4. clip — to cut
  5. net — in sport
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. clip — for paper
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. net — for catching
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. land — ground
  13. board — a committee
  14. land — to come down
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. squash — the sport
  18. ground — the earth
  19. ground — crushed
  20. clip — a video
  21. board — to get on
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. ground — a position

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