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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. key — the most important part
  4. wake — a trail
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. land — to come down
  7. key — in music
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. court — of law
  10. bulb — for light
  11. land — ground
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. land — a country
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. wound — an injury
  17. court — of a king
  18. bulb — for light
  19. court — for sport
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. key — for a lock
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. coach — a trainer

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