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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. spring — the season
  3. fine — all right
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. bulb — for light
  7. chest — of your body
  8. saw — the tool
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. saw — the tool
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. chest — a box
  13. chest — of your body
  14. spring — a coil
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. hand — help
  17. plane — a tool
  18. fine — high quality
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. court — of law
  21. spring — of water
  22. bulb — for light
  23. court — for sport
  24. hand — in cards

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