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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. last — final
  3. bank — for money
  4. staff — employees
  5. last — finally
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. staff — employees
  8. saw — the tool
  9. net — in sport
  10. court — of law
  11. court — for sport
  12. net — after costs
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. bank — for money
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. saw — the tool
  17. last — to go on
  18. staff — a stick
  19. can — a tin
  20. mine — for digging
  21. can — a tin
  22. bank — of a river
  23. can — to be able to
  24. net — for catching

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