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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. land — ground
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. court — of law
  5. court — of a king
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. object — to protest
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. last — final
  11. court — for sport
  12. land — a country
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. last — to go on
  17. object — an aim
  18. object — a thing
  19. drill — army training
  20. land — to come down
  21. stand — to bear
  22. drill — a practice
  23. last — finally
  24. mine — for digging

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