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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. row — a line
  3. season — in sport
  4. land — to come down
  5. row — to paddle
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. rule — government
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. swing — music
  10. shower — rain
  11. band — a music group
  12. band — a ring
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. rule — a law
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — to wash
  18. swing — to play on
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. swing — in golf
  21. land — a country
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. season — of the year

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