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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 120 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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. rest — a break
  3. rest — what's left
  4. clip — for paper
  5. land — to come down
  6. land — ground
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. chip — for betting
  9. ground — the earth
  10. mark — a trace
  11. chip — to eat
  12. land — a country
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. clip — to cut
  15. spring — a coil
  16. scale — size or range
  17. mark — a grade
  18. ground — crushed
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. clip — a video
  21. rest — what's left
  22. spring — of water
  23. scale — in music
  24. ground — a position

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