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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 a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. content — the amount
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bound — obliged
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. land — a country
  8. land — to come down
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. content — happy
  16. land — ground
  17. court — for sport
  18. court — of law
  19. bound — tied together
  20. wind — moving air
  21. pound — a weight
  22. bound — certain
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. coach — a trainer

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