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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. last — to go on
  3. land — a country
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. last — final
  6. staff — employees
  7. mine — for digging
  8. land — ground
  9. fall — the season
  10. fall — to drop
  11. land — to come down
  12. mate — to breed
  13. fall — to drop
  14. last — finally
  15. staff — a stick
  16. mate — a friend
  17. mate — a partner
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. club — for golf
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. staff — employees
  23. club — for dancing
  24. mine — an explosive

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