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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 120 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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. court — of law
  3. pop — to visit
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. file — a line of people
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. file — a tool
  8. plane — a tool
  9. court — for sport
  10. spring — the season
  11. court — of a king
  12. pop — soda
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. spring — of water
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. pop — music
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. file — a document
  23. ball — a dance
  24. ball — a great time

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