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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 120 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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. court — of a king
  5. rest — a break
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. march — music
  8. spring — a coil
  9. court — for sport
  10. prune — to trim
  11. pop — music
  12. court — of law
  13. rest — what's left
  14. prune — to trim
  15. rash — a series
  16. pop — soda
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. pop — to visit
  19. rest — what's left
  20. march — the month
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. spring — the season
  23. rash — hasty
  24. march — the month

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