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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. cell — a phone
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. branch — a division
  8. row — a line
  9. face — part of the head
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. row — to paddle
  14. cell — in biology
  15. land — ground
  16. deal — to handle
  17. face — to confront
  18. land — to come down
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. face — to point toward

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