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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. net — for catching
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. chest — a box
  5. net — after costs
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. land — ground
  9. wake — a trail
  10. craft — boats
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. court — of a king
  13. court — for sport
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. net — in sport
  16. land — to come down
  17. squash — the sport
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. craft — a skill
  23. squash — to crush
  24. court — of law

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