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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. rest — what's left
  3. spring — the season
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. rest — a break
  7. spring — of water
  8. saw — the tool
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. row — to paddle
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. court — of a king
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. sharp — clever
  18. snap — to click
  19. spring — a coil
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. saw — the tool
  22. court — of law
  23. row — a line
  24. rest — what's left

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