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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. rest — a break
  4. court — of law
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. stock — shares
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. mine — for digging
  13. saw — the tool
  14. cell — a phone
  15. deal — to handle
  16. rest — what's left
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. cell — in biology
  20. saw — the tool
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. court — for sport
  23. rest — what's left
  24. stock — goods

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