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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. court — for sport
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. court — of law
  7. board — to get on
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. spring — of water
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. bass — low music
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. spring — the season
  15. bat — the animal
  16. swing — in golf
  17. spring — a coil
  18. mine — for digging
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. bass — the fish
  21. swing — music
  22. swing — to play on
  23. board — a committee
  24. mine — an explosive

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