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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. mine — for digging
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. court — of a king
  5. tube — a container
  6. tube — the underground
  7. land — ground
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. staff — a stick
  10. land — a country
  11. court — for sport
  12. present — the time now
  13. chip — for betting
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. court — of law
  17. chip — to eat
  18. staff — employees
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. staff — employees
  23. present — a gift
  24. present — there

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