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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. bound — obliged
  3. saw — the tool
  4. row — to paddle
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. court — of a king
  7. bound — certain
  8. cap — of ice
  9. land — ground
  10. land — a country
  11. cap — a hat
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. row — a line
  16. cap — a lid
  17. bound — tied together
  18. court — for sport
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. court — of law
  21. saw — the tool
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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