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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. court — of law
  3. root — of a plant
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. root — the cause
  6. root — of a word
  7. cue — a signal
  8. mark — a trace
  9. mark — a grade
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. court — of a king
  12. cue — a hint
  13. mine — for digging
  14. land — ground
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. court — for sport
  17. swing — in golf
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. swing — to play on
  21. cue — for pool
  22. swing — music
  23. land — to come down
  24. perch — the fish

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