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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. track — a path
  3. charge — in control
  4. charge — electricity
  5. root — of a plant
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. court — of a king
  8. bound — obliged
  9. charge — a price
  10. band — a music group
  11. root — the cause
  12. cap — a lid
  13. land — a country
  14. court — of law
  15. cap — a hat
  16. land — to come down
  17. bound — certain
  18. root — of a word
  19. bound — tied together
  20. band — a ring
  21. land — ground
  22. track — a song
  23. cap — of ice
  24. track — to keep track

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