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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.

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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: foot · mine · land · perch · wake · court · ground · mark

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. ground — a position
  3. mark — a trace
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. land — ground
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. ground — crushed
  8. court — of law
  9. perch — the fish
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. ground — the earth
  12. foot — a measure
  13. mine — for digging
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. court — for sport
  16. mark — a grade
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. land — to come down
  19. wake — a trail
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. court — of a king

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