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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. spell — a short time
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. spring — the season
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. spring — of water
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. spell — magic
  11. spell — letters
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. spring — a coil
  17. court — of law
  18. ground — a position
  19. ground — the earth
  20. ground — crushed
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. wake — a trail
  23. court — of a king
  24. coach — a trainer

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