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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. ground — the earth
  3. land — to come down
  4. mate — to breed
  5. ground — crushed
  6. ground — a position
  7. swing — in golf
  8. mate — a partner
  9. land — ground
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. swing — to play on
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. swing — music
  14. mate — a friend
  15. season — in sport
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — a subject
  18. vault — a safe
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. season — of the year
  21. field — for sport
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. wake — a trail

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