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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. kid — child
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. game — a match
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. rule — government
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. game — wild animals
  9. saw — the tool
  10. court — for sport
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. rule — a law
  13. file — a line of people
  14. file — a tool
  15. saw — the tool
  16. kid — to tease
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. file — a document
  22. court — of a king
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. sharp — clever

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