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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. rest — what's left
  3. court — of a king
  4. bank — for money
  5. spring — a coil
  6. court — for sport
  7. ground — a position
  8. bank — of a river
  9. file — a document
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. file — a line of people
  12. spring — the season
  13. rest — what's left
  14. game — wild animals
  15. court — of law
  16. bank — for money
  17. mine — for digging
  18. ground — the earth
  19. ground — crushed
  20. game — a match
  21. file — a tool
  22. rest — a break
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. mine — an explosive

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