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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. court — for sport
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. ground — crushed
  6. court — of law
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. content — the amount
  9. bear — the animal
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. mate — a partner
  12. ground — a position
  13. land — ground
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. mate — to breed
  16. land — to come down
  17. bear — the animal
  18. court — of a king
  19. stand — to bear
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. content — happy
  22. ground — the earth
  23. mate — a friend
  24. bear — to put up with

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