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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. file — a line of people
  3. capital — money
  4. band — a ring
  5. file — a tool
  6. court — for sport
  7. chest — of your body
  8. suit — clothes
  9. chest — a box
  10. suit — in cards
  11. file — a document
  12. suit — to fit
  13. pit — a hole
  14. chest — of your body
  15. capital — a city
  16. fall — the season
  17. band — a music group
  18. court — of a king
  19. court — of law
  20. fall — to drop
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. fall — to drop
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. capital — a big letter

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