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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 120 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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. kid — to tease
  5. court — of law
  6. court — of a king
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. ground — crushed
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. kid — child
  14. march — music
  15. pit — a hole
  16. game — a match
  17. ground — the earth
  18. march — the month
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. pit — in a race
  21. ground — a position
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. court — for sport
  24. march — the month

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