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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. lie — to recline
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bat — the animal
  11. field — farmland
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. row — to paddle
  14. field — a subject
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. lean — thin
  18. land — to come down
  19. lean — to bend
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. row — a line
  22. land — ground
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. field — for sport

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