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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 116 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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. court — of a king
  3. stand — to bear
  4. net — after costs
  5. land — a country
  6. bound — tied together
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. pound — a weight
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. bat — the animal
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. land — to come down
  13. court — of law
  14. net — in sport
  15. cell — in biology
  16. court — for sport
  17. bound — obliged
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. net — for catching
  22. bound — certain
  23. cell — a phone
  24. land — ground

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