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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. wind — moving air
  5. pit — in a race
  6. club — for golf
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cell — in biology
  9. wind — moving air
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. court — for sport
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. court — of a king
  17. pit — a hole
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. rule — a law
  21. court — of law
  22. rule — government
  23. club — a group
  24. wind — to turn a key

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