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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. court — of law
  4. land — a country
  5. branch — a division
  6. present — the time now
  7. key — for a lock
  8. land — ground
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. sharp — clever
  11. key — in music
  12. court — for sport
  13. field — a subject
  14. present — there
  15. court — of a king
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. wind — moving air
  18. field — farmland
  19. land — to come down
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. key — the most important part
  22. wind — moving air
  23. field — for sport
  24. branch — of a tree

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