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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. kid — child
  3. rock — music
  4. squash — the sport
  5. spring — of water
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. kid — to tease
  10. squash — to crush
  11. rock — a stone
  12. court — of law
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. spring — the season
  16. spring — a coil
  17. pass — a permit
  18. court — of a king

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