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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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. hide — to keep secret
  4. bound — obliged
  5. pit — a hole
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. pit — in a race
  10. game — a match
  11. track — to keep track
  12. court — of law
  13. bound — tied together
  14. track — a path
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. track — a song
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. court — for sport
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. bound — certain
  23. game — wild animals
  24. game — a kind of play

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