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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. court — of a king
  3. mine — for digging
  4. bank — for money
  5. clip — a video
  6. court — for sport
  7. net — for catching
  8. court — of law
  9. mug — to rob
  10. mug — a cup
  11. bank — of a river
  12. net — in sport
  13. rule — government
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. net — after costs
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. clip — to cut
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. clip — for paper
  21. mug — a face
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. bank — for money
  24. stand — to bear

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