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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. rest — what's left
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. file — a tool
  5. shower — to wash
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. shower — rain
  8. court — of a king
  9. charge — electricity
  10. charge — a price
  11. rest — a break
  12. bass — low music
  13. court — for sport
  14. court — of law
  15. file — a document
  16. file — a line of people
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. rest — what's left
  19. land — to come down
  20. bark — to shout
  21. charge — in control
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bass — the fish
  24. land — ground

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