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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. land — a country
  3. cold — not warm
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. file — a tool
  6. land — ground
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. lie — to recline
  11. file — a document
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. cold — an illness
  14. charge — in control
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. file — a line of people
  17. charge — electricity
  18. land — to come down
  19. bat — the animal
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. charge — a price
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. bat — in an idiom

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