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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. toast — bread
  4. court — of a king
  5. court — for sport
  6. degree — from a university
  7. firm — a company
  8. firm — decided
  9. degree — an amount
  10. court — of law
  11. press — a publisher
  12. roll — a cake
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. firm — steady
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. degree — temperature
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. press — to push
  20. press — newspapers
  21. land — to come down
  22. land — ground
  23. bat — the animal
  24. roll — a list

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