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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. land — ground
  4. chip — to eat
  5. chip — for betting
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. pop — to visit
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. court — for sport
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. mine — for digging
  12. pop — music
  13. court — of a king
  14. pop — soda
  15. land — to come down
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. land — a country

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