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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. land — to come down
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. craft — boats
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. land — ground
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. tube — the underground
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. spell — magic
  14. spell — a short time
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. stock — shares
  19. craft — a skill
  20. mine — for digging
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. tube — a container
  23. stock — goods
  24. spell — letters

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