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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. land — to come down
  3. staff — employees
  4. chip — to eat
  5. bound — obliged
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. bound — certain
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. row — a line
  13. bound — tied together
  14. row — to paddle
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. ground — a position
  17. ground — the earth
  18. chip — for betting
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. staff — employees
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. land — a country
  23. staff — a stick
  24. ground — crushed

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