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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. court — of law
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. bound — obliged
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. court — for sport
  8. march — the month
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rest — a break
  11. bound — tied together
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. spell — a short time
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. bound — certain
  16. row — to paddle
  17. march — the month
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. march — music
  20. spell — letters
  21. court — of a king
  22. spell — magic
  23. rest — what's left
  24. row — a quarrel

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