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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. lean — thin
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. court — of law
  5. spring — the season
  6. object — to protest
  7. land — a country
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. spring — a coil
  10. object — an aim
  11. squash — to crush
  12. court — for sport
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. spring — of water
  20. squash — the sport
  21. lean — to bend
  22. court — of a king
  23. land — to come down
  24. object — a thing

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