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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  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. pit — in a race
  3. charge — a price
  4. drill — a practice
  5. hand — help
  6. file — a tool
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. court — for sport
  10. spring — the season
  11. pit — a hole
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. drill — army training
  14. charge — in control
  15. charge — electricity
  16. drill — the tool
  17. hand — in cards
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. spring — a coil
  20. file — a document
  21. spring — of water
  22. court — of a king
  23. file — a line of people
  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