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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. drill — a practice
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. row — a line
  5. perch — the fish
  6. drill — the tool
  7. content — the amount
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. row — to paddle
  11. land — ground
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. land — to come down
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cell — a phone
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. craft — a skill
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. craft — boats
  21. content — happy
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. drill — army training

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