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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. cold — an illness
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. wake — a trail
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. game — a match
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. lean — thin
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. game — wild animals
  13. cold — not warm
  14. lean — to bend
  15. land — to come down
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. land — ground
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. game — a kind of play

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