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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. track — a song
  4. fall — to drop
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. wound — an injury
  7. land — to come down
  8. bear — the animal
  9. fall — the season
  10. bear — the animal
  11. track — to keep track
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. fall — to drop
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. degree — from a university
  16. degree — an amount
  17. degree — temperature
  18. land — ground
  19. wound — an injury
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. track — a path
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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