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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. game — a match
  4. cell — a phone
  5. court — of a king
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. board — to get on
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. game — wild animals
  11. scale — in music
  12. plane — a tool
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. scale — size or range
  15. present — a gift
  16. court — for sport
  17. spring — a coil
  18. court — of law
  19. cell — in biology
  20. spring — the season
  21. present — there
  22. present — the time now
  23. board — a committee
  24. scale — for weighing

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