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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. fine — high quality
  3. spell — a short time
  4. court — of a king
  5. spell — magic
  6. fall — to drop
  7. court — of law
  8. fall — to drop
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. spell — letters
  11. bat — the animal
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. bass — low music
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. bass — the fish
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. court — for sport
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. fall — the season

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