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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — moving air
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. band — a ring
  6. march — the month
  7. fork — in a road
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. court — of law
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. march — the month
  15. band — a music group
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. court — for sport
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. mine — for digging
  20. game — wild animals
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. march — music
  23. game — a match
  24. wind — to turn a key

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