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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. date — the fruit
  4. game — wild animals
  5. rule — a law
  6. club — for golf
  7. game — a match
  8. suit — in cards
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. court — of a king
  11. land — to come down
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. club — for dancing
  14. land — a country
  15. suit — clothes
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. court — of law
  18. suit — to fit
  19. rule — government
  20. land — ground
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. band — a music group
  23. band — a ring
  24. club — a group

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