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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cell · pitch · squash · leaves · mine · land · fan · foot

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. land — ground
  5. land — a country
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. squash — to crush
  11. foot — a measure
  12. pitch — completely
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. cell — in biology
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. land — to come down
  20. cell — a phone
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. mine — for digging

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