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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. charge — electricity
  3. court — of law
  4. key — the most important part
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. charge — a price
  7. bank — for money
  8. ground — the earth
  9. key — for a lock
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. key — in music
  12. spring — of water
  13. fine — all right
  14. fine — high quality
  15. court — for sport
  16. bank — of a river
  17. spring — the season
  18. charge — in control
  19. ground — a position
  20. bank — for money
  21. spring — a coil
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. court — of a king
  24. pitcher — a jug

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