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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. stand — to bear
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. land — ground
  6. wind — moving air
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. rush — hurry
  9. perch — the fish
  10. march — music
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. kid — to tease
  16. land — to come down
  17. march — the month
  18. roll — a list
  19. roll — a cake
  20. march — the month
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. kid — child
  24. perch — for a bird

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