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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  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. court — for sport
  2. board — to get on
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. file — a line of people
  5. court — of law
  6. cold — not warm
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. root — the cause
  11. land — a country
  12. fork — in a road
  13. file — a tool
  14. root — of a plant
  15. root — of a word
  16. file — a document
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. foot — a measure
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. board — a committee
  22. land — to come down
  23. court — of a king
  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