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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spell — magic
  3. spring — the season
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. court — of a king
  6. mate — a friend
  7. fork — in a road
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. file — a document
  10. spell — letters
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. spell — a short time
  15. file — a line of people
  16. mate — a partner
  17. spring — a coil
  18. rash — hasty
  19. mate — to breed
  20. rash — a series
  21. court — of law
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. court — for sport
  24. file — a tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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