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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. rest — what's left
  3. wind — moving air
  4. shower — rain
  5. shower — to wash
  6. court — of law
  7. row — to paddle
  8. rule — a law
  9. game — wild animals
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. rule — government
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. wind — moving air
  16. court — of a king
  17. court — for sport
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. rest — what's left
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. rest — a break
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. game — a match

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