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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. object — a thing
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. field — a subject
  6. shower — rain
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. sharp — clever
  11. object — to protest
  12. scale — in music
  13. shower — to wash
  14. scale — size or range
  15. object — an aim
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. field — farmland
  19. lean — to bend
  20. lean — thin
  21. land — to come down
  22. land — a country
  23. pass — a permit
  24. field — for sport

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