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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. suit — in cards
  3. march — the month
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. face — to confront
  6. wake — a trail
  7. prune — to trim
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. land — to come down
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. land — ground
  12. spring — the season
  13. march — the month
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. suit — to fit
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. suit — clothes
  18. face — to point toward
  19. spring — of water
  20. prune — to trim
  21. spring — a coil
  22. march — music
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. face — part of the head

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