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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. spring — a coil
  3. fork — in a road
  4. stand — to bear
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. land — to come down
  8. cue — a signal
  9. land — ground
  10. cue — a hint
  11. march — the month
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. spring — of water
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. shower — rain
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. shower — to wash
  20. spring — the season
  21. cue — for pool
  22. march — music
  23. march — the month
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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