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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. tube — a container
  3. court — for sport
  4. row — to paddle
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. cap — a hat
  7. staff — employees
  8. staff — employees
  9. cap — a lid
  10. game — a match
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. court — of law
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. cap — of ice
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. kid — to tease
  20. row — a line
  21. kid — child
  22. tube — the underground
  23. game — wild animals
  24. staff — a stick

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