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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. land — a country
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. can — a tin
  8. bat — the animal
  9. stock — shares
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. stock — goods
  14. can — to be able to
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. cell — in biology
  20. land — ground
  21. can — a tin
  22. snap — to click
  23. land — to come down
  24. pound — a weight

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