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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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. ground — the earth
  3. ground — a position
  4. clip — for paper
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. rule — government
  7. land — ground
  8. clip — a video
  9. rule — a law
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. charge — in control
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. land — to come down
  15. clip — to cut
  16. pop — music
  17. pop — soda
  18. bass — low music
  19. pit — in a race
  20. pit — a hole
  21. charge — electricity
  22. charge — a price
  23. ground — crushed
  24. pop — to visit

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