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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. court — of a king
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. mine — for digging
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. stand — to bear
  7. season — in sport
  8. cue — a signal
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. game — a match
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. drill — a practice
  13. season — of the year
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. court — for sport
  16. drill — the tool
  17. court — of law
  18. drill — army training
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. game — wild animals
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. cue — for pool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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