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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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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: ground · face · club · court · ruler · branch · land · stock

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. land — a country
  3. face — part of the head
  4. ground — crushed
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. branch — a division
  8. land — to come down
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. court — of a king
  11. court — of law
  12. land — ground
  13. club — a group
  14. stock — shares
  15. ground — the earth
  16. ground — a position
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. face — to confront
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. court — for sport
  21. stock — goods
  22. club — for golf
  23. club — for dancing
  24. face — to point toward

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