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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · drill · land · perch · charge · mine · arm · foot

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. land — a country
  3. land — to come down
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. court — for sport
  12. perch — the fish
  13. land — ground
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mine — for digging
  16. drill — a practice
  17. charge — in control
  18. drill — army training
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. court — of law
  21. drill — the tool
  22. charge — electricity
  23. foot — a measure
  24. court — of a king

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