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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. land — a country
  3. land — ground
  4. bear — the animal
  5. firm — a company
  6. clip — to cut
  7. track — a song
  8. firm — steady
  9. firm — decided
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — a video
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. track — to keep track
  15. bat — the animal
  16. land — to come down
  17. track — a path
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. row — to paddle
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. lie — to recline
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. bear — the animal

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