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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 am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. cold — an illness
  4. ball — a dance
  5. rush — hurry
  6. track — a path
  7. court — for sport
  8. court — of a king
  9. track — a song
  10. bound — certain
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. prune — to trim
  13. track — to keep track
  14. ball — a great time
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. cold — not warm
  19. prune — to trim
  20. court — of law
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bound — obliged
  24. bound — tied together

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