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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. club — for golf
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. court — of law
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. court — of a king
  7. land — ground
  8. court — for sport
  9. face — to confront
  10. ball — a great time
  11. rule — government
  12. board — a committee
  13. land — to come down
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. club — for dancing
  16. ball — a dance
  17. club — a group
  18. land — a country
  19. face — part of the head
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. face — to point toward
  22. branch — a division
  23. board — to get on
  24. board — a flat piece

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