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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. key — the most important part
  3. row — to paddle
  4. land — a country
  5. court — for sport
  6. pop — music
  7. shower — to wash
  8. pop — to visit
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. land — ground
  12. court — of law
  13. court — of a king
  14. key — for a lock
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. land — to come down
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. shower — rain
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. row — a line
  22. key — in music
  23. board — to get on
  24. board — a committee

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