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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. pop — music
  3. swing — music
  4. swing — to play on
  5. land — ground
  6. swing — in golf
  7. last — finally
  8. bat — the animal
  9. pop — to visit
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. land — to come down
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. pop — soda
  14. last — to go on
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. court — for sport
  17. court — of a king
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. last — final
  21. court — of law
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. snap — to click
  24. nail — for a hammer

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