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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. court — of a king
  5. bound — tied together
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. ball — a dance
  8. can — a tin
  9. court — for sport
  10. can — a tin
  11. stock — goods
  12. stock — shares
  13. last — final
  14. can — to be able to
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. last — finally
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. ball — a great time
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. court — of law
  21. bound — certain
  22. bound — obliged
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. pitcher — a jug

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