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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. spell — a short time
  4. land — ground
  5. track — to keep track
  6. fall — to drop
  7. clip — for paper
  8. spell — letters
  9. land — to come down
  10. key — the most important part
  11. clip — to cut
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. spell — magic
  14. clip — a video
  15. key — for a lock
  16. tube — the underground
  17. tube — a container
  18. fall — to drop
  19. kid — child
  20. fall — the season
  21. track — a path
  22. key — in music
  23. track — a song
  24. kid — to tease

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