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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 116 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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. wound — an injury
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. mate — to breed
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. mine — for digging
  9. court — of a king
  10. key — the most important part
  11. key — in music
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. spell — letters
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. key — for a lock
  16. court — of law
  17. rush — hurry
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. mate — a partner
  20. spell — a short time
  21. mate — a friend
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. spell — magic
  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