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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. court — of a king
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. mate — a friend
  5. spring — a coil
  6. mate — a partner
  7. press — a publisher
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. hand — help
  11. spring — the season
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. court — for sport
  15. hand — in cards
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. press — to push
  19. court — of law
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. mate — to breed
  22. press — newspapers
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. perch — the fish

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