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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  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. mark — to pay attention
  2. land — ground
  3. land — a country
  4. bound — certain
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. foot — a measure
  8. cell — in biology
  9. bound — tied together
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. mark — a trace
  13. bound — obliged
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. cell — a phone
  17. bear — the animal
  18. mark — a grade
  19. land — to come down
  20. snap — to click
  21. court — of a king
  22. court — for sport
  23. foot — the bottom
  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