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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. ground — the earth
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. rule — government
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. bat — the animal
  10. ground — a position
  11. court — of a king
  12. ball — a dance
  13. ball — a great time
  14. court — of law
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. ground — crushed
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. rule — a law
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. dip — to sink
  23. jam — a tight spot
  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