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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  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. court — of law
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. pit — in a race
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. court — for sport
  8. court — of a king
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. rest — what's left
  11. branch — a division
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. rest — a break
  14. pit — a hole
  15. cold — not warm
  16. rest — what's left
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. pitch — completely
  22. cold — an illness
  23. branch — of a tree
  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