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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. land — a country
  3. ground — crushed
  4. ground — a position
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. can — a tin
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. can — to be able to
  12. land — ground
  13. file — a tool
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. file — a document
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. can — a tin
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. foot — a measure
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. ground — the earth
  23. file — a line of people
  24. trunk — of a tree

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