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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 120 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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. court — of law
  5. cap — of ice
  6. cap — a lid
  7. court — of a king
  8. clip — to cut
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. stand — to bear
  13. land — a country
  14. land — to come down
  15. clip — a video
  16. cap — a hat
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. land — ground
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. clip — for paper

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