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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. court — of a king
  3. track — a path
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. bulb — for light
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. drill — a practice
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. track — to keep track
  10. court — for sport
  11. drill — the tool
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. court — of law
  15. track — a song
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. bulb — for light
  18. land — a country
  19. land — to come down
  20. rule — government
  21. land — ground
  22. drill — army training
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. pitch — completely

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