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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 116 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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. spring — of water
  3. bound — obliged
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. current — happening now
  6. deal — to handle
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. row — to paddle
  9. current — electric
  10. spring — a coil
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. row — a line
  13. sharp — clever
  14. court — of law
  15. bound — tied together
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. spring — the season
  20. court — of a king
  21. fine — all right
  22. fine — high quality
  23. bound — certain
  24. current — of water

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