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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. court — of a king
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. wind — moving air
  6. land — to come down
  7. court — for sport
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. key — the most important part
  11. key — in music
  12. land — a country
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. key — for a lock
  18. land — ground
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. court — of law
  21. row — a line
  22. wind — moving air
  23. row — to paddle
  24. row — a quarrel

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