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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 116 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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. wound — an injury
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. land — ground
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. court — for sport
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. court — of a king
  9. land — to come down
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. pass — a permit
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. land — a country
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. court — of law
  19. bass — low music
  20. rash — hasty
  21. bass — the fish
  22. rash — a series
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. wound — an injury

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