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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. land — a country
  3. pop — to visit
  4. cell — a phone
  5. chest — a box
  6. chest — of your body
  7. mate — a partner
  8. mate — a friend
  9. chest — of your body
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. chip — for betting
  13. mate — to breed
  14. stand — to bear
  15. land — to come down
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. chip — to eat
  20. cell — in biology
  21. mark — a grade
  22. land — ground
  23. pop — music
  24. pop — soda

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