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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. craft — a skill
  3. ground — a position
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. club — a group
  6. chair — a leader
  7. land — ground
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. mine — for digging
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. ground — crushed
  13. tear — from crying
  14. craft — boats
  15. club — for dancing
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. ground — the earth
  18. land — to come down
  19. club — for golf
  20. land — a country
  21. tear — to rip
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. tear — from crying
  24. chair — to sit on

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