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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. ball — a dance
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. mine — for digging
  6. court — for sport
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. prune — to trim
  11. march — the month
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. prune — to trim
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. ball — a great time
  17. court — of law
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. pass — a permit
  21. court — of a king
  22. march — the month
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. march — music

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