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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. pop — to visit
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. cap — a lid
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. row — to paddle
  10. pop — soda
  11. rush — hurry
  12. pass — a permit
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. cap — of ice
  15. court — of a king
  16. cap — a hat
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. foot — a measure
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bat — the animal
  22. row — a line
  23. pop — music
  24. court — of law

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