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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 train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. land — to come down
  3. track — a song
  4. track — to keep track
  5. face — to confront
  6. land — a country
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. stand — to bear
  11. chip — to eat
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. mine — for digging
  14. land — ground
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. face — part of the head
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. track — a path
  21. chip — for betting
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. face — to point toward

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