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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. spring — the season
  3. bound — tied together
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. staff — employees
  6. craft — a skill
  7. last — final
  8. bound — obliged
  9. last — to go on
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. last — finally
  12. craft — boats
  13. staff — a stick
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bound — certain
  16. land — ground
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. staff — employees
  19. spring — a coil
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. wound — an injury
  22. spring — of water
  23. land — to come down
  24. lash — to lash out

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