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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. spell — magic
  3. ground — a position
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. land — a country
  6. land — to come down
  7. ground — the earth
  8. object — to protest
  9. fork — in a road
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. court — of law
  12. court — of a king
  13. stem — to come from
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. spell — a short time
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. ground — crushed
  18. object — a thing
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. spell — letters
  21. object — an aim
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. court — for sport

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