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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 116 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: scale · leaves · cell · bound · fan · court · trunk · land

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. scale — size or range
  4. land — a country
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. land — ground
  12. cell — a phone
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. land — to come down
  15. scale — in music
  16. court — of a king
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. bound — certain
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. court — for sport
  22. court — of law
  23. cell — in biology
  24. bound — tied together

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