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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. chip — for betting
  3. cell — in biology
  4. fall — to drop
  5. chip — to eat
  6. court — of law
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. wax — to grow
  9. land — a country
  10. court — of a king
  11. cell — a phone
  12. fall — to drop
  13. land — ground
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. court — for sport
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. row — to paddle
  18. land — to come down
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. fall — the season
  21. row — a line
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. bowl — a dish

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