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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  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. land — to come down
  2. spring — the season
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. land — a country
  5. cap — of ice
  6. clip — for paper
  7. last — finally
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. rock — music
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. last — final
  12. rock — a stone
  13. cap — a lid
  14. stock — goods
  15. spring — a coil
  16. spring — of water
  17. cap — a hat
  18. clip — to cut
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. clip — a video
  21. last — to go on
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. stock — shares
  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