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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 124 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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. wound — an injury
  3. game — a match
  4. court — for sport
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. court — of a king
  7. cell — in biology
  8. bank — for money
  9. wound — an injury
  10. land — a country
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. last — to go on
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bank — of a river
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. last — final
  17. court — of law
  18. cell — a phone
  19. bat — the animal
  20. last — finally
  21. land — ground
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. bank — for money
  24. land — to come down

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