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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. rule — a law
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — an injury
  6. club — a group
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. club — for golf
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. rule — government
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. club — for dancing
  13. land — to come down
  14. land — ground
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. toast — bread
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. pitcher — in baseball

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