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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. rush — hurry
  3. hand — help
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. kid — child
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. wind — moving air
  8. march — the month
  9. march — the month
  10. charge — in control
  11. march — music
  12. court — of law
  13. deal — to handle
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. wind — moving air
  18. charge — electricity
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. kid — to tease
  21. charge — a price
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. court — for sport
  24. hand — in cards

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