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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. ball — a great time
  3. saw — the tool
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. shower — to wash
  6. pop — music
  7. shower — rain
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. ball — a dance
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. pop — soda
  12. saw — the tool
  13. root — the cause
  14. current — of water
  15. court — of law
  16. pop — to visit
  17. current — electric
  18. root — of a plant
  19. court — for sport
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. root — of a word
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. current — happening now
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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