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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. spring — of water
  4. court — for sport
  5. saw — the tool
  6. court — of a king
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. dip — to sink
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. spring — the season
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. scale — size or range
  17. spring — a coil
  18. scale — in music

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