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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. fine — high quality
  3. spring — the season
  4. present — the time now
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. fine — all right
  8. land — to come down
  9. scale — size or range
  10. land — a country
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. spring — of water
  14. present — there
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. chair — a leader
  18. spring — a coil
  19. scale — in music
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. snap — to click
  23. present — a gift
  24. fork — in a road

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