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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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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: land · tear · chair · prune · mark · mate · dip · fan

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. mark — a trace
  5. mate — to breed
  6. dip — to sink
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. land — ground
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. chair — a leader
  11. tear — from crying
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. prune — to trim
  14. mark — a grade
  15. tear — to rip
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. mate — a friend
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. prune — to trim
  20. land — to come down
  21. mate — a partner
  22. tear — from crying
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. dip — a sauce

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