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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. rule — government
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. sharp — clever
  6. toast — bread
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. court — for sport
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. rash — a series
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. rule — a law
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. rash — hasty
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. roll — a list
  20. court — of law
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. court — of a king

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