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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 116 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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. track — a song
  3. track — to keep track
  4. land — to come down
  5. cold — not warm
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. pit — in a race
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. ground — the earth
  13. craft — boats
  14. cold — an illness
  15. pit — a hole
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. chair — a leader
  18. land — ground
  19. craft — a skill
  20. plane — a tool
  21. track — a path
  22. ground — crushed
  23. ground — a position
  24. chair — to sit on

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