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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. land — ground
  4. court — for sport
  5. fall — the season
  6. land — a country
  7. club — for dancing
  8. present — a gift
  9. club — for golf
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. fork — in a road
  13. fall — to drop
  14. court — of law
  15. club — a group
  16. snap — to click
  17. present — the time now
  18. court — of a king
  19. present — there
  20. chest — a box
  21. chest — of your body
  22. fall — to drop
  23. land — to come down
  24. chest — of your body

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