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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. kid — child
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. wind — moving air
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. fine — high quality
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wind — moving air
  15. mine — for digging
  16. land — ground
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. pass — a permit
  19. land — to come down
  20. fine — all right
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. kid — to tease

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