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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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. court — of a king
  4. track — a path
  5. track — to keep track
  6. snap — to click
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. rule — a law
  9. track — a song
  10. root — the cause
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. root — of a plant
  13. root — of a word
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. prune — to trim
  16. land — ground
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. court — of law
  20. wound — an injury
  21. prune — to trim
  22. rule — government
  23. land — to come down
  24. wound — an injury

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