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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. cell — a phone
  3. land — a country
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. cell — in biology
  9. land — ground
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. cold — an illness
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. land — to come down
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. mark — a grade
  19. cold — not warm
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. ruler — a monarch

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