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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. tube — the underground
  4. court — of a king
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. net — in sport
  7. rest — what's left
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. stock — shares
  10. drill — a practice
  11. mark — a trace
  12. drill — army training
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. court — for sport
  15. tube — a container
  16. court — of law
  17. net — after costs
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. drill — the tool
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. stock — goods
  22. rest — what's left
  23. net — for catching
  24. mark — a grade

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