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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. land — to come down
  4. court — for sport
  5. land — a country
  6. cell — in biology
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. stand — to bear
  9. dip — to sink
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. rash — a series
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. cell — a phone
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. march — music
  16. court — of law
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. march — the month
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. march — the month
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. court — of a king
  23. land — ground
  24. rash — hasty

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