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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. court — for sport
  4. snap — to click
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. bass — low music
  7. ball — a great time
  8. spring — the season
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. ball — a dance
  15. field — a subject
  16. stock — shares
  17. spring — of water
  18. stock — goods
  19. court — of law
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — farmland
  23. spring — a coil
  24. court — of a king

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