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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. chest — of your body
  3. foot — a measure
  4. pound — a weight
  5. chest — a box
  6. land — ground
  7. wind — moving air
  8. rule — a law
  9. current — electric
  10. current — happening now
  11. land — a country
  12. bat — the animal
  13. current — of water
  14. wind — moving air
  15. rule — government
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. chest — of your body
  24. land — to come down

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