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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. fine — high quality
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. roll — a cake
  6. court — for sport
  7. rush — hurry
  8. court — of a king
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. file — a document
  13. deal — to handle
  14. file — a tool
  15. court — of law
  16. fine — all right
  17. file — a line of people
  18. roll — a list

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