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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. rule — government
  3. court — of a king
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. ball — a dance
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. bat — the animal
  10. roll — a cake
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. rule — a law
  15. court — of law
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. roll — a list
  19. scale — in music
  20. scale — size or range
  21. ball — a great time
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. branch — a division

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