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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. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. chest — of your body
  4. court — of law
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. land — to come down
  8. last — to go on
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. chest — of your body
  12. snap — to click
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. land — ground
  16. court — of a king
  17. last — final
  18. bark — to shout
  19. court — for sport
  20. chest — a box
  21. last — finally
  22. mark — a trace
  23. mark — a grade
  24. foot — a measure

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