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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. land — a country
  3. suit — in cards
  4. land — to come down
  5. file — a tool
  6. staff — a stick
  7. suit — to fit
  8. land — ground
  9. staff — employees
  10. suit — clothes
  11. court — of a king
  12. court — for sport
  13. file — a line of people
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — a video
  17. file — a document
  18. mug — to rob
  19. chip — for betting
  20. staff — employees
  21. mug — a cup
  22. court — of law
  23. clip — to cut
  24. chip — to eat

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