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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. court — of law
  3. ball — a great time
  4. court — of a king
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. file — a line of people
  8. court — for sport
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. march — the month
  11. chair — a leader
  12. season — in sport
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. march — music
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. file — a document
  19. shower — rain
  20. march — the month
  21. shower — to wash
  22. season — of the year
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. ball — a dance

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