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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. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. staff — employees
  3. land — a country
  4. court — for sport
  5. staff — a stick
  6. court — of a king
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. land — to come down
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — from a university
  11. staff — employees
  12. scale — size or range
  13. current — of water
  14. stock — goods
  15. current — electric
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. court — of law
  18. scale — in music
  19. degree — an amount
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. stock — shares
  22. land — ground
  23. foot — a measure
  24. current — happening now

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