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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. land — to come down
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of a king
  8. bear — the animal
  9. fine — all right
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. row — a line
  12. court — of law
  13. row — to paddle
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. fine — high quality
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. land — ground
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. bear — 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