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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. face — part of the head
  3. land — ground
  4. pass — a permit
  5. ground — a position
  6. ground — crushed
  7. court — of a king
  8. snap — to click
  9. land — to come down
  10. track — to keep track
  11. wake — a trail
  12. track — a song
  13. court — of law
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. ground — the earth
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. face — to point toward
  19. track — a path
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. face — to confront
  22. court — for sport
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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