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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 120 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: straw · march · hand · land · court · bear · mark · deal

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. march — music
  4. land — a country
  5. court — of law
  6. land — to come down
  7. bear — the animal
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. deal — to handle
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. march — the month
  13. bear — the animal
  14. hand — help
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. march — the month
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. hand — in cards
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. mark — a grade
  21. mark — a trace
  22. court — of a king
  23. land — ground
  24. mark — to pay attention

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