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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. land — to come down
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. pop — to visit
  5. pop — soda
  6. cap — of ice
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. cap — a lid
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. clip — a video
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. clip — for paper
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. clip — to cut
  17. cap — a hat
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. land — ground
  20. pop — music
  21. staff — a stick
  22. staff — employees
  23. land — a country
  24. staff — employees

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