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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 mare is ________________ in color.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. court — of a king
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. land — a country
  8. shower — to wash
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. court — of law
  11. court — for sport
  12. spell — a short time
  13. bound — obliged
  14. spell — magic
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. last — to go on
  17. bound — certain
  18. last — finally
  19. shower — rain
  20. land — to come down
  21. bound — tied together
  22. spell — letters
  23. last — final
  24. wave — with your hand

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