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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. rush — hurry
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bank — for money
  5. bank — for money
  6. court — for sport
  7. bat — the animal
  8. chip — to eat
  9. squash — the sport
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. ground — the earth
  12. ground — crushed
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. ground — a position
  15. cell — in biology
  16. chip — for betting
  17. cell — a phone
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. bank — of a river
  20. court — of law
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. squash — to crush

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