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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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. key — in music
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. mine — for digging
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. land — to come down
  11. court — of a king
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. court — of law
  14. land — a country
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. land — ground
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. court — for sport
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. key — for a lock
  22. key — the most important part
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. pound — a weight

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