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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. rule — government
  5. court — for sport
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. land — to come down
  12. ground — a position
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. ground — the earth
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. bat — the animal
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. branch — a division
  20. ground — crushed
  21. rule — a law
  22. land — a country
  23. land — ground
  24. court — of law

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