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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. field — a subject
  3. chip — for betting
  4. chip — to eat
  5. suit — to fit
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. land — ground
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. game — wild animals
  12. wake — a trail
  13. lean — thin
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. suit — in cards
  16. field — farmland
  17. land — to come down
  18. field — for sport
  19. snap — to click
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. game — a match
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. suit — clothes
  24. lean — to bend

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