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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. club — for golf
  3. club — a group
  4. bank — for money
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. shower — rain
  7. bank — for money
  8. land — to come down
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. content — the amount
  11. land — a country
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. fork — in a road
  16. court — for sport
  17. court — of law
  18. club — for dancing
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. shower — to wash
  21. court — of a king
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. bank — of a river
  24. content — happy

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