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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. land — ground
  3. court — for sport
  4. scale — in music
  5. can — to be able to
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. court — of law
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. land — to come down
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. chest — of your body
  12. court — of a king
  13. rule — government
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. land — a country
  16. tear — from crying
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. rule — a law
  19. tear — to rip
  20. tear — from crying
  21. can — a tin
  22. scale — size or range
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — a box

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