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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. land — ground
  3. last — to go on
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. present — a gift
  6. land — to come down
  7. present — the time now
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. court — for sport
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. last — final
  12. last — finally
  13. court — of a king
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. land — a country
  18. present — there
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. pound — a weight
  21. season — in sport
  22. lie — to recline
  23. season — of the year
  24. lie — an untruth

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