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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. rule — a law
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. field — farmland
  5. spring — of water
  6. rule — government
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. mine — for digging
  10. court — of law
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. spring — a coil
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. wound — an injury
  15. field — for sport
  16. bulb — for light
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. field — a subject
  20. bulb — for light
  21. spring — the season
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. court — for sport
  24. wound — an injury

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