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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. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. hand — help
  4. rush — hurry
  5. land — ground
  6. row — a line
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. land — to come down
  9. game — wild animals
  10. row — to paddle
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — the tool
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. game — a match
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. hand — in cards
  24. row — a quarrel

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