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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pit · court · key · content · wave · cap · rule · bat

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. court — of law
  3. rule — a law
  4. pit — a hole
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. bat — the animal
  8. cap — a hat
  9. cap — of ice
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. court — for sport
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. key — for a lock
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. content — the amount
  17. court — of a king
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. cap — a lid
  20. key — in music
  21. content — happy
  22. pit — in a race
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. rule — government

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