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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. land — to come down
  3. clip — to cut
  4. scale — size or range
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. court — of law
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. bank — of a river
  9. court — of a king
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. clip — for paper
  13. land — a country
  14. scale — in music
  15. land — ground
  16. bank — for money
  17. court — for sport
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. clip — a video
  20. board — a committee
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. board — to get on
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. bank — for money

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