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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. cap — a lid
  3. land — ground
  4. tube — a container
  5. spell — a short time
  6. row — a line
  7. row — to paddle
  8. fall — to drop
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. tube — the underground
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. spell — magic
  13. cap — of ice
  14. land — to come down
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. spell — letters
  19. fall — the season
  20. fall — to drop
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. mine — for digging
  24. cap — a hat

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