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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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. land — to come down
  5. land — ground
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. net — for catching
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. net — after costs
  11. sharp — clever
  12. stand — to bear
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. kid — child
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. kid — to tease
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. net — in sport
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — to drop
  22. land — a country
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. fall — the season

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