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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  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. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. cap — a lid
  3. fork — in a road
  4. spring — the season
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. spring — of water
  7. land — ground
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. rule — a law
  10. cap — of ice
  11. land — a country
  12. rule — government
  13. spring — a coil
  14. court — for sport
  15. land — to come down
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. court — of law
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. wake — a trail
  23. cap — a hat
  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