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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 president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. ball — a great time
  3. ball — a dance
  4. court — of a king
  5. court — for sport
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. fine — all right
  11. fine — high quality
  12. squash — the sport
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. game — a match
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. bark — to shout
  17. sharp — clever
  18. wax — to grow
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. game — wild animals
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. court — of law
  24. game — a kind of play

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