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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. suit — to fit
  3. net — in sport
  4. date — the fruit
  5. hand — in cards
  6. land — ground
  7. fine — high quality
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. suit — in cards
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. hand — help
  13. court — of a king
  14. suit — clothes
  15. court — for sport
  16. cold — not warm
  17. land — to come down
  18. net — after costs
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. net — for catching
  21. cold — an illness
  22. fine — all right
  23. court — of law
  24. land — a country

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