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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. court — of a king
  4. court — of law
  5. can — a tin
  6. net — for catching
  7. cold — an illness
  8. game — wild animals
  9. net — after costs
  10. rest — what's left
  11. can — to be able to
  12. game — a match
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. can — a tin
  16. court — for sport
  17. net — in sport
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — a break
  20. club — a group
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. club — for golf
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. cold — not warm

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