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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. game — a match
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. court — of a king
  8. object — to protest
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. court — of law
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. net — in sport
  13. object — an aim
  14. net — after costs
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. object — a thing
  17. pass — a permit
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. net — for catching
  21. lie — to recline
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. game — wild animals

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