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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. court — of a king
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. march — music
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. court — for sport
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. chest — of your body
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. march — the month
  13. rule — a law
  14. bore — to tire
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. court — of law
  17. chest — of your body
  18. rule — government
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. bore — to drill
  21. march — the month
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. hand — in cards
  24. chest — a box

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