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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 120 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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  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. mate — a partner
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. ball — a dance
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. mate — a friend
  7. wind — moving air
  8. court — of a king
  9. mate — to breed
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bear — the animal
  12. land — ground
  13. land — a country
  14. hand — in cards
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. hand — help
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. squash — to crush
  19. wind — moving air
  20. land — to come down
  21. squash — the sport
  22. ball — a great time
  23. court — for sport
  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