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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: fall · land · straw · object · band · bear · court · fan

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. land — ground
  3. land — a country
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. court — for sport
  7. object — to protest
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fall — the season
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — to drop
  13. court — of law
  14. object — a thing
  15. bear — the animal
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. land — to come down
  18. court — of a king
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. object — an aim
  21. bear — the animal
  22. band — a music group
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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