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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: court · bore · club · land · fork · bound · chest · stick

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. court — of a king
  3. club — for dancing
  4. chest — of your body
  5. land — a country
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — a box
  9. bore — to tire
  10. bound — obliged
  11. land — to come down
  12. club — a group
  13. court — of law
  14. bound — certain
  15. bound — tied together
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. bore — to drill
  22. fork — in a road
  23. club — for golf
  24. court — for sport

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