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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. land — ground
  3. land — a country
  4. spell — magic
  5. mark — a trace
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. clip — to cut
  9. spell — a short time
  10. court — of law
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. court — of a king
  14. spell — letters
  15. court — for sport
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — a video
  18. mark — a grade
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. plane — a tool
  22. hand — help
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. land — to come down

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