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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. bass — low music
  3. court — for sport
  4. game — wild animals
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. bound — obliged
  13. court — of law
  14. rest — a break
  15. rest — what's left
  16. mark — a trace
  17. wake — a trail
  18. game — a match
  19. rest — what's left
  20. bound — certain
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. mark — a grade
  23. bound — tied together
  24. bass — the fish

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