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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. march — the month
  5. kid — to tease
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. march — music
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — to trim
  10. court — for sport
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. drill — army training
  14. kid — child
  15. drill — a practice
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. capital — a city
  18. court — of law
  19. march — the month
  20. pit — a hole
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. drill — the tool
  23. capital — money
  24. pit — in a race

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