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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 116 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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — for digging
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. stock — shares
  8. land — to come down
  9. land — ground
  10. stock — goods
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. land — a country
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. fork — in a road
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. cold — not warm
  22. row — a line
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. leaves — to go away

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