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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. land — a country
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. court — of law
  5. chest — of your body
  6. game — wild animals
  7. capital — money
  8. court — of a king
  9. chest — a box
  10. dip — to sink
  11. pop — soda
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. pop — to visit
  14. chest — of your body
  15. capital — a city
  16. land — ground
  17. firm — decided
  18. court — for sport
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. pop — music
  21. land — to come down
  22. firm — a company
  23. firm — steady
  24. dip — a sauce

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