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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. land — a country
  3. court — for sport
  4. land — to come down
  5. charge — in control
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. spell — magic
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. charge — electricity
  11. staff — employees
  12. fall — to drop
  13. land — ground
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. charge — a price
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. fall — the season
  18. court — of law
  19. fall — to drop
  20. spell — letters
  21. staff — a stick
  22. staff — employees
  23. snap — to click
  24. court — of a king

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