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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. land — ground
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. hand — in cards
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. charge — electricity
  7. land — a country
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. stand — to bear
  10. net — after costs
  11. hand — help
  12. charge — in control
  13. net — for catching
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. charge — a price
  16. court — for sport
  17. court — of a king
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. net — in sport
  21. land — to come down
  22. roll — a list
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. court — of law

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