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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. court — of law
  5. firm — decided
  6. rule — government
  7. land — to come down
  8. bound — certain
  9. ground — the earth
  10. firm — a company
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. cell — in biology
  14. ground — crushed
  15. firm — steady
  16. court — of a king
  17. land — a country
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. ground — a position
  20. cell — a phone
  21. bound — tied together
  22. bound — obliged
  23. land — ground
  24. rule — a law

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