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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. bat — the animal
  5. march — the month
  6. band — a ring
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. band — a music group
  9. drill — army training
  10. march — music
  11. drill — a practice
  12. march — the month
  13. key — the most important part
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. key — for a lock
  17. drill — the tool
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. court — of law
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. key — in music
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. court — for sport

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