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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. game — a match
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. rest — a break
  6. spring — of water
  7. bound — tied together
  8. court — for sport
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. court — of law
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. rest — what's left
  14. game — wild animals
  15. court — of a king
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. bound — certain
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. spring — the season
  21. spring — a coil
  22. kick — in football
  23. rest — what's left
  24. bound — obliged

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