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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 120 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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. cap — a hat
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. board — to get on
  5. row — a line
  6. court — for sport
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. hand — in cards
  9. pit — in a race
  10. cap — a lid
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. cap — of ice
  14. chip — for betting
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — to trim
  17. row — to paddle
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. court — of law
  20. hand — help
  21. chip — to eat
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. board — a committee
  24. pit — a hole

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