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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. row — to paddle
  4. wind — moving air
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. land — ground
  7. land — to come down
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. wound — an injury
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. cap — of ice
  15. row — a line
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. wind — moving air
  20. cap — a lid
  21. chair — a leader
  22. cap — a hat
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. wound — an injury

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