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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. spring — a coil
  3. scale — size or range
  4. fine — high quality
  5. craft — a skill
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. spell — a short time
  8. craft — boats
  9. court — of a king
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. spell — letters
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. spring — the season
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. spring — of water
  18. scale — in music
  19. spell — magic
  20. court — of law
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. snap — to click
  23. fine — all right
  24. fan — a supporter

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