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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. file — a tool
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. file — a document
  13. foot — a measure
  14. file — a line of people
  15. spring — of water
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. row — to paddle
  18. spring — the season
  19. row — a line
  20. squash — to crush
  21. land — to come down
  22. squash — the sport
  23. spring — a coil
  24. land — ground

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