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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. suit — clothes
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. hand — in cards
  5. pit — a hole
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — to tease
  11. drill — army training
  12. suit — in cards
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. drill — a practice
  15. pit — in a race
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. court — of a king
  19. drill — the tool
  20. date — the fruit
  21. kid — child
  22. court — of law
  23. suit — to fit
  24. hand — help

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