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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. court — for sport
  3. roll — a cake
  4. court — of law
  5. kid — to tease
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. club — a group
  8. court — of a king
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. club — for dancing
  14. kid — child
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. land — a country
  17. club — for golf
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. wake — a trail
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. roll — a list
  24. land — to come down

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