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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. rush — hurry
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. suit — to fit
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. land — to come down
  7. court — of law
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. file — a line of people
  10. stand — to bear
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. file — a document
  13. suit — clothes
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. land — a country
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. file — a tool
  18. land — ground
  19. suit — in cards
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pound — a weight
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. court — for sport
  24. stand — for spectators

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