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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. court — of a king
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. saw — the tool
  5. kid — child
  6. saw — the tool
  7. capital — money
  8. rest — what's left
  9. cell — in biology
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. capital — a city
  12. rest — a break
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. court — for sport
  15. kid — to tease
  16. rest — what's left
  17. mug — a cup
  18. cell — a phone
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. mug — a face
  22. mug — to rob
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. cell — in a prison

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