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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: court · fine · lie · snap · band · row · land · march

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. fine — high quality
  3. lie — to recline
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. march — music
  6. march — the month
  7. snap — to click
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. court — of law
  10. march — the month
  11. row — a line
  12. land — a country
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. land — ground
  15. land — to come down
  16. row — to paddle
  17. band — a music group
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. court — of a king
  21. band — a ring
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. court — for sport
  24. fine — all right

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