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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. drill — a practice
  4. board — a committee
  5. board — to get on
  6. land — to come down
  7. capital — a city
  8. court — for sport
  9. drill — army training
  10. drill — the tool
  11. saw — the tool
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. land — a country
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. court — of a king
  19. saw — the tool
  20. cell — a phone
  21. capital — money
  22. land — ground
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. cell — in biology

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