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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. tear — from crying
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. tear — to rip
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. court — of a king
  10. clip — for paper
  11. snap — to click
  12. land — ground
  13. court — for sport
  14. clip — a video
  15. court — of law
  16. land — to come down
  17. firm — steady
  18. firm — decided
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. clip — to cut
  22. tear — from crying
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. firm — a company

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