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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. rest — a break
  4. season — of the year
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. rest — what's left
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. rest — what's left
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. court — for sport
  12. bark — to shout
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. season — in sport
  20. bat — the animal
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. court — of law
  24. pitcher — a jug

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