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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 116 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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. court — of a king
  4. pit — in a race
  5. board — a committee
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. hand — in cards
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. hand — help
  12. fall — to drop
  13. board — to get on
  14. court — of law
  15. pit — a hole
  16. capital — money
  17. fall — the season
  18. fall — to drop
  19. capital — a city
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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