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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 120 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. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. court — for sport
  3. pop — soda
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. ground — crushed
  7. ground — a position
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. ground — the earth
  10. tear — to rip
  11. tear — from crying
  12. pop — music
  13. pop — to visit
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. rest — what's left
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. bass — low music
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. shower — rain
  20. shower — to wash
  21. rest — what's left
  22. bass — the fish
  23. court — of law
  24. rest — a break

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