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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. cell — in biology
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. march — the month
  6. court — of a king
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. cell — a phone
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. spring — of water
  12. march — the month
  13. kid — to tease
  14. kid — child
  15. spring — the season
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. court — of law
  19. fine — high quality
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. fine — all right
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. march — music
  24. court — for sport

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