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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. scale — size or range
  3. rock — music
  4. rule — government
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. land — to come down
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. rock — a stone
  9. capital — a city
  10. court — for sport
  11. rule — a law
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. wound — an injury
  14. land — ground
  15. court — of a king
  16. scale — in music
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. wound — an injury
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. land — a country
  22. plane — a tool
  23. capital — money
  24. plane — an aircraft

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