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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. bat — the animal
  7. land — ground
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. rash — a series
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. sharp — clever
  13. land — to come down
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. rash — hasty
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. dip — to sink
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. sharp — exactly

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