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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. drill — army training
  3. spring — of water
  4. wax — to grow
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. drill — a practice
  10. roll — a cake
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — the season
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. stock — shares
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. stock — goods
  19. court — of law
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. drill — the tool
  22. court — of a king
  23. roll — a list
  24. date — the fruit

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