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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. mark — a trace
  3. court — of a king
  4. file — a tool
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. wind — moving air
  7. land — ground
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. bound — tied together
  11. land — a country
  12. court — of law
  13. bound — obliged
  14. scale — size or range
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. court — for sport
  18. file — a line of people
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. bound — certain
  22. scale — in music
  23. land — to come down
  24. file — a document

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