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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: sharp · land · rest · board · pitcher · fan · firm · court

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. firm — steady
  3. court — of law
  4. board — to get on
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. land — ground
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. land — to come down
  10. rest — a break
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. court — for sport
  13. firm — decided
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. rest — what's left
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. sharp — clever
  20. board — a committee
  21. rest — what's left
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. firm — a company
  24. land — a country

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