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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. race — a contest
  3. race — humankind
  4. ball — a dance
  5. spell — a short time
  6. present — there
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. land — ground
  9. spell — magic
  10. wind — moving air
  11. staff — employees
  12. wind — moving air
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. ball — a great time
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. staff — employees
  18. present — the time now
  19. staff — a stick
  20. present — a gift
  21. land — to come down
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. race — the arms race
  24. spell — letters

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