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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. court — of a king
  4. chest — a box
  5. ground — a position
  6. fall — the season
  7. ground — crushed
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. fall — to drop
  10. court — for sport
  11. chest — of your body
  12. fall — to drop
  13. chest — of your body
  14. saw — the tool
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. saw — the tool
  17. rest — what's left
  18. squash — to crush
  19. rest — a break
  20. date — the fruit
  21. ground — the earth
  22. rest — what's left
  23. squash — the sport
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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