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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. pound — a weight
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. mark — a grade
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. court — for sport
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. court — of law
  12. board — a committee
  13. land — a country
  14. court — of a king
  15. race — humankind
  16. board — to get on
  17. land — to come down
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. race — a contest
  21. race — the arms race
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. mark — a trace
  24. pound — for dogs

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