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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. season — in sport
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. land — ground
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. mug — to rob
  11. rash — a series
  12. season — of the year
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. mug — a cup
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. degree — from a university
  17. rash — hasty
  18. degree — temperature
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. land — to come down
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. mug — a face
  23. wax — to grow
  24. degree — an amount

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