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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. drill — army training
  3. court — of a king
  4. swing — to play on
  5. drill — a practice
  6. land — ground
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. court — of law
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. pit — a hole
  12. court — for sport
  13. drill — the tool
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. pit — in a race
  16. swing — in golf
  17. land — to come down
  18. last — to go on
  19. plane — a tool
  20. last — final
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. swing — music
  23. land — a country
  24. last — finally

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