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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: scale · suit · land · mine · charge · bank · clip · court

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. suit — in cards
  3. bank — for money
  4. court — for sport
  5. suit — clothes
  6. charge — electricity
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. land — a country
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. clip — to cut
  11. charge — a price
  12. scale — in music
  13. court — of law
  14. bank — of a river
  15. bank — for money
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — for paper
  18. suit — to fit
  19. charge — in control
  20. land — ground
  21. mine — for digging
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. scale — size or range
  24. land — to come down

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