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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. land — ground
  3. ball — a great time
  4. land — to come down
  5. net — after costs
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. key — for a lock
  8. land — a country
  9. fine — all right
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. ball — a dance
  12. key — in music
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. spring — of water
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. spring — the season
  18. fine — high quality
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. net — for catching
  21. spring — a coil
  22. rule — government
  23. key — the most important part
  24. rule — a law

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