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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. land — a country
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. cue — a hint
  5. club — for dancing
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cue — for pool
  11. land — to come down
  12. club — for golf
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. cold — not warm
  16. land — ground
  17. bat — the animal
  18. plane — a tool
  19. club — a group
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. mine — for digging
  22. lie — to recline
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. cue — a signal

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