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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 are we going to ________________?
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. tube — a container
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. court — of a king
  6. land — ground
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. tube — the underground
  9. court — for sport
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. land — a country
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. tear — from crying
  18. ball — a dance
  19. court — of law
  20. tear — from crying
  21. cell — in biology
  22. tear — to rip
  23. cell — a phone
  24. ball — a great time

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