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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. land — a country
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. land — ground
  7. snap — to click
  8. land — to come down
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. date — the fruit
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. roll — a cake
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. roll — a list
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. trunk — of a tree

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