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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. kid — to tease
  4. last — to go on
  5. last — final
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. court — of law
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. kid — child
  12. land — ground
  13. stock — shares
  14. court — of a king
  15. stock — goods
  16. land — to come down
  17. mark — a grade
  18. wind — moving air
  19. staff — employees
  20. mark — a trace
  21. staff — a stick
  22. staff — employees
  23. land — a country
  24. last — finally

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