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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. court — of a king
  4. spell — magic
  5. spell — letters
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. mate — to breed
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. fine — high quality
  10. game — a match
  11. ground — the earth
  12. court — of law
  13. game — wild animals
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. mate — a partner
  16. court — for sport
  17. ground — crushed
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. mate — a friend
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. spell — a short time
  24. ground — a position

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