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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: spring · arm · wake · fall · rule · court · mark · land

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. spring — of water
  3. fall — to drop
  4. spring — a coil
  5. rule — government
  6. court — of a king
  7. land — a country
  8. court — for sport
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. wake — a trail
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. land — ground
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. mark — a trace
  17. rule — a law
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. mark — a grade
  20. land — to come down
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. fall — the season
  23. fall — to drop
  24. spring — the season

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