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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. chip — for betting
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. row — a line
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. land — to come down
  12. land — ground
  13. land — a country
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bark — to shout
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. chip — to eat
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. deal — to handle
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. row — to paddle

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