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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. scale — size or range
  3. charge — in control
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. scale — in music
  6. pop — music
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. court — for sport
  9. court — of a king
  10. wind — moving air
  11. spring — a coil
  12. court — of law
  13. wind — moving air
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. spring — of water
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — to trim
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. pop — soda
  21. spring — the season
  22. pop — to visit
  23. charge — electricity
  24. charge — a price

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