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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. snap — to click
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. pit — in a race
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. court — for sport
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. court — of law
  13. game — a match
  14. craft — boats
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. wake — a trail
  17. craft — a skill
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. pit — a hole
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. game — wild animals

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