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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 124 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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. squash — the sport
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. squash — to crush
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. net — after costs
  10. mine — for digging
  11. net — in sport
  12. bulb — for light
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. mate — a partner
  16. bulb — for light
  17. mate — to breed
  18. snap — to click
  19. mate — a friend
  20. court — of a king
  21. net — for catching
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. court — of law

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