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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. field — farmland
  3. swing — to play on
  4. scale — size or range
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. land — ground
  7. swing — music
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. land — to come down
  10. hand — help
  11. field — for sport
  12. object — a thing
  13. fork — in a road
  14. snap — to click
  15. object — to protest
  16. swing — in golf
  17. hand — in cards
  18. scale — in music
  19. object — an aim
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. field — a subject
  24. fork — a garden tool

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