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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. cell — a phone
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. court — of a king
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. cell — in biology
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. dip — to sink
  12. last — final
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. deal — to handle
  17. sharp — clever
  18. land — to come down
  19. last — to go on
  20. court — of law
  21. last — finally
  22. land — ground
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. court — for sport

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