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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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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. bore — to tire
  3. pop — music
  4. bore — to drill
  5. court — for sport
  6. wind — moving air
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. chair — a leader
  10. wind — moving air
  11. court — of law
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. pop — to visit
  16. plane — a tool
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. pop — soda
  23. cold — an illness
  24. bore — gave birth

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