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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 120 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: land · pound · bound · row · fork · wound · suit · court

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. court — of law
  3. bound — obliged
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. fork — in a road
  6. pound — a weight
  7. land — to come down
  8. court — for sport
  9. court — of a king
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. land — ground
  13. suit — in cards
  14. bound — certain
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. wound — an injury
  19. suit — to fit
  20. bound — tied together
  21. row — to paddle
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. suit — clothes
  24. row — a line

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