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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 116 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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. file — a line of people
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. kick — in football
  5. court — of law
  6. fall — to drop
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. drill — the tool
  9. field — for sport
  10. charge — a price
  11. charge — in control
  12. file — a document
  13. fall — the season
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. file — a tool
  16. drill — army training
  17. fall — to drop
  18. field — farmland
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. court — of a king
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. field — a subject
  23. drill — a practice
  24. charge — electricity

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