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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 120 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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. bound — tied together
  3. shower — to wash
  4. court — for sport
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. key — in music
  7. key — the most important part
  8. land — ground
  9. court — of law
  10. land — to come down
  11. bound — certain
  12. court — of a king
  13. shower — rain
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. fork — in a road
  16. key — for a lock
  17. bound — obliged
  18. fork — to eat with

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