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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 116 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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. mine — for digging
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. court — for sport
  6. cold — not warm
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. hand — in cards
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. suit — in cards
  12. court — of law
  13. suit — to fit
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. chip — to eat
  16. hand — help
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. cold — an illness
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. chip — for betting
  22. suit — clothes
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. fan — a supporter

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