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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. net — after costs
  3. board — to get on
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. net — in sport
  7. mate — a partner
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. mate — a friend
  10. land — to come down
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. wake — a trail
  14. land — ground
  15. wound — an injury
  16. mate — to breed
  17. board — a committee
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. net — for catching
  24. wound — an injury

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