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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. ground — crushed
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. ball — a dance
  5. court — of law
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. saw — the tool
  8. root — the cause
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. mate — to breed
  11. court — of a king
  12. court — for sport
  13. root — of a plant
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. root — of a word
  17. ground — a position
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. mate — a partner
  20. snap — to click
  21. ball — a great time
  22. rash — hasty
  23. rash — a series
  24. ground — the earth

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