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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 124 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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. roll — a list
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. net — in sport
  9. rule — government
  10. deal — to handle
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. land — ground
  13. roll — a cake
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. land — to come down
  16. file — a tool
  17. net — after costs
  18. net — for catching
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. file — a line of people
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. file — a document
  24. rule — a law

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