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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. row — a line
  5. court — for sport
  6. rule — a law
  7. charge — a price
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. wind — moving air
  10. charge — electricity
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. charge — in control
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. track — a song
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. track — a path
  18. court — of law
  19. wake — a trail
  20. row — to paddle
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. rule — government
  23. track — to keep track
  24. plane — a tool

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