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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. court — for sport
  3. fall — to drop
  4. pop — soda
  5. net — in sport
  6. net — for catching
  7. pop — to visit
  8. field — a subject
  9. court — of law
  10. fall — the season
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. court — of a king
  14. rush — hurry
  15. field — for sport
  16. fall — to drop
  17. field — farmland
  18. bat — the animal
  19. pop — music
  20. pit — a hole
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. net — after costs
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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