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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. pit — a hole
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. chip — to eat
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. staff — employees
  7. cell — in biology
  8. object — to protest
  9. race — humankind
  10. staff — employees
  11. object — an aim
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. object — a thing
  16. staff — a stick
  17. race — a contest
  18. pit — in a race
  19. chip — for betting
  20. mine — for digging
  21. land — a country
  22. land — ground
  23. race — the arms race
  24. cell — a phone

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