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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. rest — what's left
  3. court — of law
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. court — for sport
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. hand — help
  9. rest — a break
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. fine — all right
  14. hand — in cards
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. fine — high quality
  18. pop — to visit
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. pop — music
  22. pop — soda
  23. rest — what's left
  24. racket — a loud noise

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