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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. file — a line of people
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. fall — the season
  8. land — ground
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. file — a tool
  12. file — a document
  13. land — to come down
  14. stock — goods
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. stock — shares
  17. fall — to drop
  18. bore — to tire
  19. bore — to drill
  20. fall — to drop
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. wake — a trail
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. stock — a soup base

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