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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. land — a country
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. sharp — clever
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. land — to come down
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. tube — the underground
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. court — of law
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. tube — a container
  16. wound — an injury
  17. court — of a king
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. court — for sport
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. fork — in a road

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