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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. game — wild animals
  3. rule — government
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. pitch — completely
  6. drill — a practice
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. drill — army training
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. game — a match
  12. court — of law
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. pass — a permit
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. drill — the tool
  18. rule — a law
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. court — for sport
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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