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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. last — finally
  3. staff — employees
  4. last — final
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. staff — a stick
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. court — of a king
  9. club — for golf
  10. land — ground
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. court — of law
  13. last — to go on
  14. prune — to trim
  15. staff — employees
  16. land — to come down
  17. land — a country
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. club — a group
  20. pound — a weight
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. club — for dancing
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. prune — to trim

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