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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. land — to come down
  3. court — for sport
  4. snap — to click
  5. rest — a break
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. court — of a king
  9. cell — in biology
  10. mug — a cup
  11. pit — a hole
  12. land — ground
  13. court — of law
  14. last — finally
  15. mug — to rob
  16. mug — a face
  17. rest — what's left
  18. last — final
  19. last — to go on
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. rest — what's left
  22. pit — in a race
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. cell — a phone

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