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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. rash — hasty
  5. spring — the season
  6. prune — to trim
  7. spring — of water
  8. court — of law
  9. charge — a price
  10. can — to be able to
  11. can — a tin
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. can — a tin
  14. prune — to trim
  15. rash — a series
  16. court — of a king
  17. spring — a coil
  18. charge — in control
  19. row — to paddle
  20. charge — electricity
  21. row — a line
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. fan — to cool the air
  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