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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. land — a country
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. can — to be able to
  6. can — a tin
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. board — a committee
  9. land — to come down
  10. race — a contest
  11. court — for sport
  12. can — a tin
  13. land — ground
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. board — to get on
  16. season — of the year
  17. race — the arms race
  18. court — of law
  19. bore — to tire
  20. bore — to drill
  21. bat — the animal
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. season — in sport
  24. race — humankind

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