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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. last — finally
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. last — final
  5. land — to come down
  6. wind — moving air
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. rock — music
  9. rest — what's left
  10. pass — a permit
  11. wind — moving air
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. clip — to cut
  15. craft — boats
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. craft — a skill
  18. clip — for paper
  19. last — to go on
  20. rest — a break
  21. clip — a video
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. land — ground
  24. rock — a stone

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