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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 116 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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. net — for catching
  3. root — the cause
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. net — in sport
  6. bound — certain
  7. pop — soda
  8. land — to come down
  9. file — a line of people
  10. court — for sport
  11. file — a tool
  12. root — of a plant
  13. bound — obliged
  14. pop — to visit
  15. chair — a leader
  16. pop — music
  17. file — a document
  18. bound — tied together
  19. land — ground
  20. court — of a king
  21. root — of a word
  22. court — of law
  23. net — after costs
  24. chair — a professorship

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