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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 120 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. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. bound — certain
  3. court — of law
  4. net — in sport
  5. net — after costs
  6. bound — tied together
  7. cap — of ice
  8. cell — a phone
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. bound — obliged
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. saw — the tool
  15. cap — a lid
  16. board — to get on
  17. court — of a king
  18. fork — in a road
  19. net — for catching
  20. board — a committee
  21. saw — the tool
  22. cap — a hat
  23. cell — in biology
  24. fork — a garden tool

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