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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 116 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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. fine — all right
  3. fine — high quality
  4. lie — to recline
  5. court — for sport
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. tube — the underground
  11. land — to come down
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. court — of law
  14. court — of a king
  15. pop — soda
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. land — ground
  19. tube — a container
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. pop — music
  24. land — a country

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