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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. drill — the tool
  3. fall — to drop
  4. court — of law
  5. fall — to drop
  6. mine — for digging
  7. pit — in a race
  8. court — of a king
  9. hand — help
  10. court — for sport
  11. bear — the animal
  12. spring — of water
  13. bear — the animal
  14. spring — the season
  15. drill — army training
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. spring — a coil
  18. drill — a practice
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. pit — a hole
  22. hand — in cards
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. mine — belonging to me

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