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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. land — to come down
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. mark — a trace
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spring — of water
  9. land — ground
  10. board — to get on
  11. cap — a hat
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. board — a committee
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. cold — not warm
  19. mark — a grade
  20. cap — of ice
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. cap — a lid
  23. spring — the season
  24. leaves — of a tree

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