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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. current — electric
  3. pop — to visit
  4. current — happening now
  5. spell — letters
  6. court — of a king
  7. drill — a practice
  8. cap — a hat
  9. land — to come down
  10. spell — magic
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. court — of law
  13. spell — a short time
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. pop — soda
  16. current — of water
  17. drill — the tool
  18. cap — a lid
  19. land — ground
  20. pass — a permit
  21. pop — music
  22. cap — of ice
  23. court — for sport
  24. drill — army training

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