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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 124 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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. land — to come down
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rest — a break
  7. object — to protest
  8. wound — an injury
  9. object — a thing
  10. object — an aim
  11. hand — help
  12. land — ground
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. wax — to grow
  19. rest — what's left
  20. hand — in cards
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. pitch — completely
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. wound — an injury

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