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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. spring — the season
  3. spring — a coil
  4. wind — moving air
  5. rest — a break
  6. shower — to wash
  7. wind — moving air
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — what's left
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. spell — a short time
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. shower — rain
  15. court — for sport
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. court — of a king
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. spring — of water
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. spell — letters
  23. saw — the tool
  24. spell — magic

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