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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. land — ground
  3. bear — the animal
  4. pop — music
  5. pop — soda
  6. file — a tool
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. land — to come down
  9. kid — to tease
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. file — a document
  13. kid — child
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. pop — to visit
  17. bear — the animal
  18. file — a line of people

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