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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. prune — to trim
  3. wind — moving air
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. land — a country
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. mate — to breed
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. toast — bread
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. chip — for betting
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. mate — a partner
  14. land — to come down
  15. mate — a friend
  16. wind — moving air
  17. prune — to trim
  18. net — for catching
  19. net — in sport
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. dip — to sink
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. net — after costs
  24. chip — to eat

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