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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. march — the month
  3. court — for sport
  4. court — of law
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. fine — all right
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. march — music
  9. pitch — completely
  10. fine — high quality
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. mine — for digging
  13. saw — the tool
  14. court — of a king
  15. march — the month
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. foot — a measure
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. racket — for tennis

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