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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. court — of law
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. suit — to fit
  5. track — to keep track
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. present — a gift
  8. suit — in cards
  9. present — the time now
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. track — a path
  13. court — of a king
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. suit — clothes
  17. court — for sport
  18. fork — in a road
  19. cold — an illness
  20. mine — for digging
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. track — a song
  24. present — there

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