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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 116 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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. cap — of ice
  3. staff — employees
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. cap — a lid
  9. shower — rain
  10. rule — a law
  11. court — of law
  12. wake — a trail
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. court — of a king
  19. shower — to wash
  20. staff — a stick
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. rule — government
  23. cap — a hat
  24. staff — employees

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