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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. spell — a short time
  5. prune — to trim
  6. court — of law
  7. shower — to wash
  8. bound — tied together
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. tube — the underground
  11. spell — magic
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. court — of a king
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. shower — rain
  18. prune — to trim
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. bound — obliged
  22. bound — certain
  23. tube — a container
  24. spell — letters

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