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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. firm — steady
  3. net — after costs
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. last — final
  7. wound — an injury
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. pitch — completely
  12. last — finally
  13. last — to go on
  14. court — for sport
  15. firm — a company
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. net — in sport
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. wound — an injury
  21. net — for catching
  22. firm — decided
  23. court — of law
  24. pitch — a sports field

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