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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 124 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 hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. object — an aim
  4. land — ground
  5. land — a country
  6. file — a tool
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. mine — for digging
  11. row — to paddle
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. row — a line
  15. object — to protest
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. land — to come down
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. object — a thing
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a document
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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