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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. chip — to eat
  3. court — of a king
  4. court — for sport
  5. land — ground
  6. drill — army training
  7. suit — to fit
  8. drill — a practice
  9. land — a country
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. chip — for betting
  12. suit — clothes
  13. band — a ring
  14. band — a music group
  15. march — music
  16. march — the month
  17. march — the month
  18. stock — shares
  19. stock — goods
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. drill — the tool
  22. land — to come down
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. court — of law

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