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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. land — to come down
  3. court — of law
  4. bound — certain
  5. face — part of the head
  6. mug — a face
  7. mug — a cup
  8. court — for sport
  9. face — to confront
  10. mug — to rob
  11. sharp — clever
  12. land — ground
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. mine — for digging
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. band — a ring
  17. face — to point toward
  18. bound — tied together
  19. band — a music group
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. bound — obliged
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. court — of a king

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