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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 · court · straw · present · wound · lean · bear

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. court — for sport
  4. wound — an injury
  5. court — of a king
  6. court — of law
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. present — the time now
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. bear — the animal
  13. land — ground
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. present — a gift
  16. lean — to bend
  17. wound — an injury
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. bear — the animal
  20. sharp — clever
  21. land — a country
  22. lean — thin
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. present — there

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