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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 124 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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. court — for sport
  3. ball — a great time
  4. shower — rain
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. shower — to wash
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. court — of law
  15. court — of a king
  16. foot — a measure
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. foot — the bottom

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