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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. scale — size or range
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. bore — to tire
  5. march — music
  6. chip — for betting
  7. rest — what's left
  8. squash — the sport
  9. rest — a break
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. court — of law
  12. rest — what's left
  13. court — of a king
  14. march — the month
  15. squash — to crush
  16. scale — in music
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. march — the month
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. chip — to eat
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cell — a phone
  23. bore — to drill
  24. cell — in a prison

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