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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 116 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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. game — a match
  3. rest — what's left
  4. court — for sport
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. rest — a break
  8. bound — tied together
  9. bound — certain
  10. shower — rain
  11. court — of a king
  12. prune — to trim
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. lie — to recline
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. shower — to wash
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. court — of law
  20. wind — moving air
  21. prune — to trim
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bound — obliged
  24. game — wild animals

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