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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. mug — to rob
  3. rule — a law
  4. ball — a dance
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. bear — the animal
  8. land — a country
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. ball — a great time
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. bear — the animal
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. mug — a cup
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. mug — a face
  22. land — to come down
  23. rule — government
  24. bat — the animal

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