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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. suit — in cards
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. rest — a break
  5. row — to paddle
  6. row — a line
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. land — a country
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. land — to come down
  11. march — music
  12. rest — what's left
  13. dip — to sink
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. rest — what's left
  16. suit — to fit
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. band — a ring
  21. march — the month
  22. suit — clothes
  23. march — the month
  24. band — a music group

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