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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. last — final
  7. spring — of water
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. spring — the season
  10. last — finally
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. spring — a coil
  14. mate — to breed
  15. wound — an injury
  16. last — to go on
  17. mate — a friend
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. court — of law
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. mate — a partner
  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