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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. season — in sport
  3. wind — moving air
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. last — finally
  6. last — to go on
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. key — the most important part
  9. date — the fruit
  10. key — in music
  11. wind — moving air
  12. last — final
  13. chest — a box
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. land — to come down
  16. chest — of your body
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. chest — of your body
  20. key — for a lock
  21. season — of the year
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. land — ground

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