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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. land — to come down
  3. court — of law
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. fall — to drop
  6. court — of a king
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. last — finally
  9. stock — shares
  10. land — ground
  11. stock — goods
  12. rule — government
  13. fall — to drop
  14. object — an aim
  15. last — to go on
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. fall — the season
  18. object — a thing
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. last — final
  22. rule — a law
  23. court — for sport
  24. land — a country

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