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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 116 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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. spell — a short time
  5. spell — letters
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. shower — rain
  8. net — in sport
  9. fork — in a road
  10. court — for sport
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. net — for catching
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. spell — magic
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. shower — to wash
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. prune — to trim
  21. deal — to handle
  22. net — after costs
  23. court — of law
  24. prune — to trim

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