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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. land — ground
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. content — the amount
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. kid — child
  10. press — a publisher
  11. net — after costs
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. press — to push
  17. press — newspapers
  18. kid — to tease
  19. content — happy
  20. net — for catching
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. land — to come down
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. net — in sport

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