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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 120 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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. club — for golf
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. field — for sport
  6. rash — a series
  7. rash — hasty
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. wind — moving air
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. land — to come down
  14. stem — to come from
  15. land — ground
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. field — farmland
  18. club — for dancing
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. lie — to recline
  21. field — a subject
  22. club — a group
  23. wind — moving air
  24. lie — an untruth

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