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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. land — a country
  3. degree — an amount
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. fine — all right
  6. season — of the year
  7. fine — high quality
  8. land — ground
  9. degree — from a university
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. track — a song
  16. track — to keep track
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rest — a break
  19. degree — temperature
  20. track — a path
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. mine — for digging
  23. land — to come down
  24. season — in sport

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