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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. suit — in cards
  3. suit — to fit
  4. court — of law
  5. shower — rain
  6. suit — clothes
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. spring — of water
  10. kid — child
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — a coil
  15. court — of a king
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. wake — a trail
  20. shower — to wash
  21. ball — a dance
  22. kid — to tease
  23. court — for sport
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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