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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. mug — to rob
  3. staff — employees
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. court — of law
  6. court — for sport
  7. cold — an illness
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. land — to come down
  10. mate — to breed
  11. court — of a king
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. prune — to trim
  14. land — ground
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — a stick
  18. mug — a cup
  19. cold — not warm
  20. prune — to trim
  21. wax — to grow
  22. mate — a friend
  23. mug — a face
  24. mate — a partner

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