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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. club — for golf
  4. current — happening now
  5. current — of water
  6. game — a match
  7. clip — to cut
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. game — wild animals
  10. staff — a stick
  11. club — for dancing
  12. pit — in a race
  13. staff — employees
  14. court — of law
  15. clip — for paper
  16. bore — to drill
  17. pit — a hole
  18. clip — a video
  19. bore — to tire
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. staff — employees
  22. current — electric
  23. club — a group
  24. court — for sport

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