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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 116 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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Word bank
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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. fine — all right
  3. can — a tin
  4. land — ground
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. court — for sport
  7. can — a tin
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. land — to come down
  11. staff — employees
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. land — a country
  14. hand — help
  15. hand — in cards
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. fine — high quality
  18. bark — to shout
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. court — of law
  21. staff — employees
  22. staff — a stick
  23. can — to be able to
  24. court — of a king

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