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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 116 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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. present — a gift
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. present — there
  7. clip — to cut
  8. mine — for digging
  9. tear — to rip
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. present — the time now
  13. land — ground
  14. tear — from crying
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. clip — a video
  17. tear — from crying
  18. clip — for paper
  19. bear — the animal
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. bear — the animal
  22. land — to come down
  23. kick — in football
  24. wave — with your hand

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