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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 a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. charge — a price
  3. cap — a hat
  4. court — for sport
  5. scale — size or range
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. court — of law
  9. game — wild animals
  10. charge — electricity
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. game — a match
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. last — final
  15. scale — in music
  16. cap — of ice
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. last — to go on
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. last — finally
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. charge — in control
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. cap — a lid

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