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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. wind — moving air
  4. rest — a break
  5. court — of law
  6. rest — what's left
  7. pop — music
  8. pop — soda
  9. ball — a great time
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. ball — a dance
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. court — for sport
  15. capital — a city
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pop — to visit
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — money
  20. branch — a division
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rush — hurry
  24. wind — to turn a key

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