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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. object — a thing
  3. swing — in golf
  4. court — of a king
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. land — a country
  7. clip — a video
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. land — ground
  10. game — a match
  11. object — to protest
  12. swing — to play on
  13. season — of the year
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. court — for sport
  16. clip — to cut
  17. swing — music
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. court — of law
  20. object — an aim
  21. land — to come down
  22. season — in sport
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. clip — for paper

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