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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. land — to come down
  3. wind — moving air
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. track — a path
  6. court — of a king
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. court — of law
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. land — a country
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. track — a song
  15. scale — in music
  16. court — for sport
  17. scale — size or range
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. fork — in a road
  22. land — ground
  23. track — to keep track
  24. sharp — clever

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