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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. prune — to trim
  4. spring — of water
  5. court — of a king
  6. ball — a dance
  7. spell — letters
  8. spring — the season
  9. bass — the fish
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. wind — moving air
  13. court — of law
  14. foot — a measure
  15. ball — a great time
  16. wind — moving air
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. spring — a coil
  19. spell — a short time
  20. prune — to trim
  21. spell — magic
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. bass — low music

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