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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. cold — an illness
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. ball — a dance
  8. club — for dancing
  9. club — for golf
  10. land — to come down
  11. bore — to tire
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. stock — shares
  16. club — a group
  17. fork — in a road
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. stock — goods
  20. land — ground
  21. ball — a great time
  22. bore — to drill
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. cold — not warm

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