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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. court — for sport
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. spell — letters
  6. court — of law
  7. rash — hasty
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. cell — a phone
  11. kid — to tease
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kid — child
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. spell — magic
  17. cell — in biology
  18. spell — a short time
  19. chip — to eat
  20. court — of a king
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. chip — for betting
  23. rash — a series
  24. cell — in a prison

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