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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. land — a country
  3. court — of law
  4. net — after costs
  5. land — to come down
  6. court — for sport
  7. net — for catching
  8. land — ground
  9. race — humankind
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. court — of a king
  12. rest — what's left
  13. bound — certain
  14. bound — obliged
  15. race — a contest
  16. net — in sport
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. rest — a break
  22. race — the arms race
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. bound — tied together

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