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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. court — of a king
  3. spring — a coil
  4. spring — the season
  5. game — a match
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. court — of law
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. spring — of water
  10. firm — decided
  11. court — for sport
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. bass — the fish
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. hand — help
  18. game — wild animals
  19. firm — steady
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. hand — in cards
  22. bass — low music
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. firm — a company

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