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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. land — to come down
  3. mine — for digging
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. present — the time now
  6. wind — moving air
  7. degree — an amount
  8. present — there
  9. present — a gift
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. land — ground
  15. stem — to come from
  16. land — a country
  17. wind — moving air
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. degree — from a university
  22. deal — to handle
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. degree — temperature

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