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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. present — there
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. game — wild animals
  5. shower — rain
  6. game — a match
  7. can — to be able to
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. shower — to wash
  10. land — ground
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. band — a music group
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. saw — the tool
  16. present — the time now
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. present — a gift
  19. can — a tin
  20. band — a ring
  21. land — to come down
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. saw — the tool
  24. can — a tin

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