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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. rule — a law
  3. rule — government
  4. court — for sport
  5. club — a group
  6. row — a line
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. land — a country
  10. bound — tied together
  11. court — of law
  12. land — to come down
  13. row — to paddle
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. dip — to sink
  17. bound — obliged
  18. club — for golf
  19. land — ground
  20. mine — for digging
  21. club — for dancing
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. court — of a king
  24. bound — certain

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