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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. land — a country
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. land — ground
  6. band — a ring
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. lean — thin
  11. band — a music group
  12. mate — a friend
  13. land — to come down
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. cap — a hat
  16. lean — to bend
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. cap — of ice
  19. row — a line
  20. mate — to breed
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. cap — a lid
  24. row — to paddle

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