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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. stand — to bear
  4. staff — a stick
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. land — a country
  7. staff — employees
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. rash — hasty
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. land — to come down
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. file — a tool
  17. file — a document
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. rash — a series
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. staff — employees
  22. mine — for digging
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. file — a line of people

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