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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 116 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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. land — a country
  3. tube — a container
  4. court — for sport
  5. dip — to sink
  6. court — of a king
  7. perch — the fish
  8. land — to come down
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. court — of law
  15. net — in sport
  16. last — final
  17. land — ground
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. net — after costs
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. last — to go on
  23. last — finally
  24. tube — the underground

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