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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  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. court — of a king
  2. court — for sport
  3. file — a line of people
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. stock — goods
  7. file — a document
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. file — a tool
  10. land — to come down
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. court — of law
  16. stock — shares
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. bore — to tire
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. land — ground
  21. bore — to drill
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. land — a country
  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