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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. cell — a phone
  3. snap — to click
  4. land — a country
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. band — a music group
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. rule — a law
  9. suit — to fit
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. band — a ring
  12. land — to come down
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. cell — in biology
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. field — farmland
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. suit — in cards
  20. field — for sport
  21. rule — government
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. field — a subject
  24. suit — clothes

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