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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. prune — to trim
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. court — of law
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. cue — a signal
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. land — to come down
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. court — for sport
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. prune — to trim
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. land — a country
  16. wind — moving air
  17. chip — for betting
  18. cue — a hint
  19. chip — to eat
  20. court — of a king
  21. wind — moving air
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. cue — for pool
  24. patient — a sick person

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