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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. land — a country
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. court — for sport
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. fall — the season
  8. chip — for betting
  9. spring — of water
  10. net — in sport
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. fall — to drop
  13. court — of law
  14. land — ground
  15. rush — hurry
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. net — after costs
  18. spring — the season
  19. net — for catching
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. court — of a king
  22. spring — a coil
  23. chip — to eat
  24. fall — to drop

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