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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. prune — to trim
  3. key — for a lock
  4. key — in music
  5. game — wild animals
  6. court — of law
  7. spring — a coil
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. key — the most important part
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. court — for sport
  14. game — a match
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. kick — in football
  17. spring — of water
  18. court — of a king
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. spring — the season
  22. sharp — clever
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. kick — with a leg

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