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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. wound — an injury
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. land — a country
  5. staff — employees
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. land — to come down
  8. season — in sport
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. degree — from a university
  12. degree — an amount
  13. court — of law
  14. season — of the year
  15. degree — temperature
  16. ground — crushed
  17. ground — the earth
  18. wound — an injury
  19. ground — a position
  20. staff — employees
  21. land — ground
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. court — for sport
  24. staff — a stick

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