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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. game — wild animals
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. file — a document
  5. court — of a king
  6. stand — to bear
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. tube — a container
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. field — a subject
  11. rule — government
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. field — farmland
  15. rule — a law
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. file — a tool
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. field — for sport
  20. tube — the underground
  21. court — for sport
  22. court — of law
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. file — a line of people

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