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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. spell — magic
  4. drill — the tool
  5. track — a song
  6. court — of law
  7. game — wild animals
  8. drill — a practice
  9. spell — letters
  10. key — for a lock
  11. track — a path
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. key — in music
  14. court — for sport
  15. spell — a short time
  16. game — a match
  17. pit — a hole
  18. key — the most important part
  19. ball — a dance
  20. pit — in a race
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. drill — army training
  23. ball — a great time
  24. track — to keep track

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