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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  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. court — of law
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. net — for catching
  4. land — a country
  5. staff — a stick
  6. clip — a video
  7. land — ground
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. band — a music group
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. net — after costs
  12. lie — to recline
  13. band — a ring
  14. court — for sport
  15. staff — employees
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. clip — to cut
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. staff — employees
  20. land — to come down
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. net — in sport
  23. clip — for paper
  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