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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. land — ground
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. rest — a break
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. content — happy
  10. bound — certain
  11. rest — what's left
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. rest — what's left
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. land — to come down
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. bound — obliged
  19. wax — to grow
  20. bound — tied together
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. content — the amount
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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