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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 120 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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. land — a country
  3. bass — low music
  4. court — of law
  5. scale — size or range
  6. foot — a measure
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. land — ground
  9. court — of a king
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. present — a gift
  14. present — the time now
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. scale — in music
  17. bass — the fish
  18. mine — for digging
  19. season — in sport
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. court — for sport
  22. present — there
  23. season — of the year
  24. mine — belonging to me

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