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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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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. chest — of your body
  3. mug — a face
  4. court — for sport
  5. file — a line of people
  6. mug — to rob
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. court — of law
  9. tear — to rip
  10. rule — a law
  11. tear — from crying
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. mug — a cup
  14. chest — a box
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. file — a tool
  19. chest — of your body
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. file — a document
  23. pitch — completely
  24. rule — government

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