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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. fine — high quality
  3. shower — rain
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. shower — to wash
  7. fine — all right
  8. court — for sport
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. drill — the tool
  13. plane — a tool
  14. rule — a law
  15. rule — government
  16. court — of law
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. drill — a practice
  19. sharp — clever
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. drill — army training
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. cell — in biology

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