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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. staff — employees
  3. spell — letters
  4. current — happening now
  5. staff — employees
  6. fork — in a road
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. spell — magic
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. rash — hasty
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. rash — a series
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. staff — a stick
  15. squash — the sport
  16. squash — to crush
  17. spell — a short time
  18. rush — hurry
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. court — for sport
  21. current — of water
  22. current — electric
  23. court — of law
  24. fork — a garden tool

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