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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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. pitcher — a jug
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. court — of a king
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. land — ground
  8. root — of a plant
  9. content — the amount
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. court — for sport
  14. content — happy
  15. court — of law
  16. fall — to drop
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. root — the cause
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — the season
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rest — what's left
  23. root — of a word
  24. rest — a break

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