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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. spell — letters
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. prune — to trim
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. sharp — clever
  7. court — of a king
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. march — the month
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. prune — to trim
  14. spell — a short time
  15. march — the month
  16. court — of law
  17. bulb — for light
  18. march — music
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. bulb — for light
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. spell — magic
  24. sharp — with an edge

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