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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  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. temple — a place of worship
  2. pop — music
  3. land — ground
  4. bear — the animal
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. court — for sport
  9. game — a match
  10. bear — the animal
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. land — to come down
  15. pop — to visit
  16. game — wild animals
  17. chip — for betting
  18. chip — to eat
  19. court — of a king
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. court — of law
  23. pop — soda
  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