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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. snap — to click
  3. band — a ring
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. chest — of your body
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. season — in sport
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. chest — a box
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. band — a music group
  12. row — to paddle
  13. land — ground
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. staff — a stick
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. staff — employees
  18. land — to come down
  19. chest — of your body
  20. season — of the year
  21. staff — employees
  22. row — a line
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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