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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. land — to come down
  3. rock — music
  4. land — ground
  5. rock — a stone
  6. file — a line of people
  7. scale — size or range
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. court — of law
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. hand — in cards
  12. court — for sport
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. file — a document
  15. scale — in music
  16. hand — help
  17. file — a tool
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. mug — a face
  20. mug — to rob
  21. mug — a cup
  22. court — of a king
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. jam — in traffic

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