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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mine — for digging
  3. court — for sport
  4. land — to come down
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. march — the month
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. court — of law
  9. march — music
  10. land — ground
  11. chip — to eat
  12. court — of a king
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. tube — the underground
  15. pitch — completely
  16. march — the month
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. land — a country
  19. suit — to fit
  20. chip — for betting
  21. suit — clothes
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. tube — a container
  24. suit — in cards

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