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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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. bound — certain
  3. pop — to visit
  4. clip — for paper
  5. bound — tied together
  6. court — of law
  7. land — ground
  8. chip — to eat
  9. court — for sport
  10. rest — what's left
  11. suit — clothes
  12. rest — what's left
  13. land — a country
  14. rest — a break
  15. suit — in cards
  16. pop — music
  17. clip — to cut
  18. court — of a king
  19. bound — obliged
  20. clip — a video
  21. chip — for betting
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. land — to come down
  24. pop — soda

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