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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. land — a country
  3. plane — a tool
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. shower — rain
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. kick — in football
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. chair — a leader
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. shower — to wash
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. land — to come down
  19. mine — for digging
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. land — ground
  24. mine — belonging to me

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