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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. spring — of water
  3. shower — to wash
  4. can — a tin
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. spring — a coil
  7. spring — the season
  8. can — to be able to
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. game — wild animals
  12. drill — a practice
  13. court — for sport
  14. can — a tin
  15. game — a match
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. drill — the tool
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. court — of law
  20. drill — army training
  21. shower — rain
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. mouse — the animal

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