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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 116 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 train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. court — of a king
  3. cap — a hat
  4. ground — the earth
  5. row — to paddle
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. stand — to bear
  8. bass — low music
  9. court — for sport
  10. court — of law
  11. land — a country
  12. clip — to cut
  13. bass — the fish
  14. cap — a lid
  15. clip — a video
  16. ground — a position
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. ground — crushed
  19. cap — of ice
  20. row — a line
  21. land — to come down
  22. clip — for paper
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. land — ground

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