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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. land — a country
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. cold — not warm
  5. court — of law
  6. spell — a short time
  7. suit — in cards
  8. suit — to fit
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. suit — clothes
  11. tube — the underground
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. spell — magic
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. land — ground
  18. board — to get on
  19. spell — letters
  20. court — for sport
  21. land — to come down
  22. court — of a king
  23. tube — a container
  24. board — a committee

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