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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. drill — a practice
  3. drill — army training
  4. pop — music
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. spell — a short time
  8. march — the month
  9. spell — magic
  10. court — of a king
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. march — the month
  13. spell — letters
  14. drill — the tool
  15. tear — to rip
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — from crying
  18. march — music
  19. pop — to visit
  20. bound — certain
  21. bound — tied together
  22. bound — obliged
  23. pop — soda
  24. court — for sport

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