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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: bank · present · scale · wake · lash · land · court · ruler

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. present — a gift
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. bank — for money
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. bank — of a river
  10. present — there
  11. present — the time now
  12. court — for sport
  13. land — a country
  14. land — to come down
  15. wake — a trail
  16. scale — in music
  17. scale — size or range
  18. court — of a king
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. bank — for money
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. court — of law

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