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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. file — a tool
  3. cold — an illness
  4. file — a line of people
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. net — after costs
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. net — in sport
  11. spell — letters
  12. spell — a short time
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. net — for catching
  15. land — to come down
  16. file — a document
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. cold — not warm
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. spell — magic
  23. land — ground
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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