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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: squash · mine · court · clip · mark · bear · cell · land

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. clip — to cut
  3. land — to come down
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. cell — a phone
  6. cell — in biology
  7. bear — the animal
  8. court — of law
  9. mine — for digging
  10. clip — a video
  11. land — a country
  12. mark — a trace
  13. land — ground
  14. bear — the animal
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. squash — to crush
  19. clip — for paper
  20. court — for sport
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. squash — the sport
  24. mark — a grade

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