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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: bound · court · squash · saw · fan · board · land · kid

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. land — a country
  3. board — to get on
  4. land — to come down
  5. court — for sport
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. bound — obliged
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — to tease
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. kid — child
  13. bound — tied together
  14. squash — the sport
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. court — of law
  17. land — ground
  18. squash — to crush
  19. board — a committee
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. saw — the tool
  22. court — of a king
  23. saw — the tool
  24. bound — certain

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