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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. court — of a king
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. drill — the tool
  6. game — a match
  7. court — for sport
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. drill — a practice
  10. kick — in football
  11. fall — to drop
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. court — of law
  14. scale — size or range
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. stand — to bear
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. fall — the season
  21. drill — army training
  22. game — wild animals
  23. scale — in music
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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