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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. land — to come down
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. sharp — clever
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. ball — a great time
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. charge — a price
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. row — to paddle
  15. row — a line
  16. charge — in control
  17. mine — for digging
  18. ball — a dance
  19. charge — electricity
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. land — a country
  23. wake — a trail
  24. row — a quarrel

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