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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. saw — the tool
  5. wake — a trail
  6. shower — rain
  7. squash — the sport
  8. fork — in a road
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. squash — to crush
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. land — ground
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. shower — to wash
  21. land — to come down
  22. stem — to come from
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. saw — the tool

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