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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. bore — to tire
  3. court — of law
  4. kick — in football
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. cap — a hat
  7. bore — to drill
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. rule — a law
  10. march — the month
  11. cap — a lid
  12. march — the month
  13. march — music
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. cap — of ice
  16. spring — a coil
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. spring — the season
  20. spring — of water
  21. rule — government
  22. court — of a king
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. trunk — of a tree

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