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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. row — to paddle
  4. land — a country
  5. face — part of the head
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. face — to confront
  9. perch — the fish
  10. mate — a friend
  11. can — to be able to
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. mate — a partner
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. land — ground
  16. can — a tin
  17. can — a tin
  18. face — to point toward
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. land — to come down
  21. wax — to grow
  22. chip — to eat
  23. row — a line
  24. chip — for betting

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