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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 cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. land — to come down
  3. stand — to bear
  4. clip — a video
  5. game — a match
  6. land — a country
  7. land — ground
  8. court — for sport
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. suit — in cards
  11. mark — a trace
  12. fall — to drop
  13. mark — a grade
  14. court — of law
  15. fall — the season
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — to cut
  18. game — wild animals
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. suit — to fit
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. fall — to drop
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. court — of a king

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