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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 116 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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. object — to protest
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. object — a thing
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. land — ground
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. last — finally
  9. row — to paddle
  10. bound — certain
  11. bound — obliged
  12. last — final
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. squash — the sport
  15. land — a country
  16. last — to go on
  17. squash — to crush
  18. object — an aim
  19. bound — tied together
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. land — to come down
  22. row — a line
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — for digging

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