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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. land — to come down
  4. file — a document
  5. bound — obliged
  6. cold — an illness
  7. land — ground
  8. file — a line of people
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. bound — tied together
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. bound — certain
  15. file — a tool
  16. hand — help
  17. fall — to drop
  18. hand — in cards
  19. fall — to drop
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. cold — not warm
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. fall — the season

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