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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. shower — to wash
  3. court — for sport
  4. court — of a king
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. field — for sport
  7. drill — army training
  8. hand — help
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. key — for a lock
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. drill — the tool
  13. key — in music
  14. drill — a practice
  15. shower — rain
  16. rule — government
  17. court — of law
  18. rule — a law
  19. field — farmland
  20. pit — in a race
  21. pit — a hole
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. field — a subject
  24. key — the most important part

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