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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. court — of a king
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. spring — of water
  8. ball — a dance
  9. court — of law
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. ball — a great time
  12. mine — for digging
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. wake — a trail
  15. spring — the season
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. court — for sport
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. spring — a coil
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. straw — a straw man

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