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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  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. game — a match
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. court — for sport
  6. cap — of ice
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. rule — a law
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. ground — crushed
  13. mine — for digging
  14. cap — a hat
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. cap — a lid
  17. ground — a position
  18. ground — the earth
  19. rule — government
  20. game — wild animals
  21. court — of law
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  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