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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. mate — a partner
  3. key — for a lock
  4. court — of law
  5. court — of a king
  6. tear — to rip
  7. field — for sport
  8. tear — from crying
  9. land — ground
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. court — for sport
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. field — a subject
  14. branch — a division
  15. mate — a friend
  16. field — farmland
  17. tear — from crying
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. mate — to breed
  20. key — the most important part
  21. land — to come down
  22. key — in music
  23. foot — a measure
  24. foot — part of the body

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