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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. court — of a king
  3. fork — in a road
  4. court — for sport
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. board — to get on
  10. clip — for paper
  11. land — to come down
  12. shower — rain
  13. rush — hurry
  14. board — a committee
  15. shower — to wash
  16. clip — a video
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. fine — high quality
  19. fine — all right
  20. clip — to cut
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. land — ground
  23. court — of law
  24. board — a flat piece

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