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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. ground — the earth
  3. court — of a king
  4. last — final
  5. net — for catching
  6. court — for sport
  7. spell — magic
  8. cap — a hat
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. net — after costs
  11. march — the month
  12. march — music
  13. last — finally
  14. march — the month
  15. court — of law
  16. net — in sport
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. last — to go on
  19. ground — crushed
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. spell — a short time
  22. ground — a position
  23. cap — a lid
  24. spell — letters

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