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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. chair — a leader
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. land — to come down
  6. stock — shares
  7. stock — goods
  8. track — a song
  9. land — ground
  10. current — of water
  11. fine — all right
  12. current — electric
  13. track — to keep track
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. cue — a hint
  16. cue — for pool
  17. mine — for digging
  18. track — a path
  19. fine — high quality
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. cue — a signal
  23. current — happening now
  24. stock — a soup base

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