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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. court — for sport
  3. court — of a king
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. toast — bread
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. present — a gift
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. bat — the animal
  13. row — to paddle
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. game — a match
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. game — wild animals
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. row — a line
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. present — the time now
  24. present — there

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