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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. court — of law
  4. march — the month
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. roll — a cake
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. craft — a skill
  9. band — a ring
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. court — of a king
  14. march — the month
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. roll — a list
  17. craft — boats
  18. march — music
  19. mine — for digging
  20. band — a music group
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. foot — a measure
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. band — a rubber band

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