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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. cap — of ice
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. court — of law
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. fall — to drop
  8. band — a ring
  9. stock — shares
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. spring — of water
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. band — a music group
  14. stock — goods
  15. file — a document
  16. court — for sport
  17. spring — the season
  18. file — a tool
  19. cap — a lid
  20. file — a line of people
  21. fall — the season
  22. spring — a coil
  23. cap — a hat
  24. fall — to drop

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