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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. spring — a coil
  9. mine — for digging
  10. spring — the season
  11. court — of a king
  12. game — wild animals
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. court — for sport
  15. game — a match
  16. court — of law
  17. ball — a dance
  18. mate — to breed
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. rush — hurry
  21. spring — of water
  22. mate — a partner
  23. mate — a friend
  24. wave — of the sea

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