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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. perch — the fish
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. fine — all right
  5. foot — a measure
  6. pop — soda
  7. fine — high quality
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. bark — to shout
  11. land — to come down
  12. pop — music
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. court — for sport
  16. land — ground
  17. pop — to visit
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. rash — a series
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. court — of a king
  23. rash — hasty
  24. court — of law

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