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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 water is too ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. cold — not warm
  3. content — the amount
  4. cold — an illness
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. foot — a measure
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. game — a match
  10. game — wild animals
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. tube — the underground
  14. ground — crushed
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. ground — a position
  18. land — to come down
  19. tube — a container
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. ground — the earth
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. land — ground
  24. content — happy

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