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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. last — final
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. tear — from crying
  7. last — finally
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. kick — in football
  10. court — of law
  11. rule — government
  12. last — to go on
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. court — for sport
  15. spring — of water
  16. court — of a king
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. tear — to rip
  21. rule — a law
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. spring — a coil
  24. kick — a thrill

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