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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. staff — a stick
  3. rule — government
  4. kid — to tease
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. rule — a law
  7. court — of a king
  8. ground — a position
  9. track — to keep track
  10. staff — employees
  11. track — a song
  12. ground — the earth
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. shower — to wash
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. staff — employees
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. track — a path
  21. shower — rain
  22. court — for sport
  23. ground — crushed
  24. court — of law

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