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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. court — of law
  3. spring — of water
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. court — for sport
  9. rock — music
  10. wound — an injury
  11. last — to go on
  12. wound — an injury
  13. last — finally
  14. mate — to breed
  15. spring — the season
  16. spring — a coil
  17. mate — a partner
  18. last — final
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. rock — a stone
  23. mate — a friend
  24. deal — to handle

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