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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. club — for dancing
  3. hand — help
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. club — for golf
  7. face — part of the head
  8. hand — in cards
  9. face — to point toward
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. land — ground
  12. land — to come down
  13. club — a group
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. ball — a dance
  16. ball — a great time
  17. staff — a stick
  18. court — for sport
  19. face — to confront
  20. pitch — completely
  21. court — of a king
  22. staff — employees
  23. court — of law
  24. staff — employees

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