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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. court — of a king
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — final
  5. squash — the sport
  6. ground — the earth
  7. ground — a position
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. court — for sport
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. ground — crushed
  14. cell — a phone
  15. pitch — completely
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. last — finally
  18. court — of law
  19. drill — a practice
  20. squash — to crush
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. drill — the tool
  23. drill — army training
  24. cabinet — ministers

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