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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. bound — obliged
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. shower — rain
  8. court — for sport
  9. land — a country
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. land — ground
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. land — to come down
  14. bound — tied together
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — moving air
  18. plane — a tool
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. stand — to bear
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. court — of a king
  23. court — of law
  24. bound — certain

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