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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 120 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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. land — a country
  4. stem — to come from
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. wind — moving air
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. wind — moving air
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. land — to come down
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. land — ground

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