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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. spell — a short time
  3. bat — the animal
  4. court — of a king
  5. sharp — clever
  6. net — in sport
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. cap — of ice
  9. net — after costs
  10. spell — letters
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. firm — decided
  13. firm — a company
  14. cap — a hat
  15. firm — steady
  16. spring — the season
  17. cap — a lid
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. court — for sport
  20. net — for catching
  21. court — of law
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. spring — of water
  24. spring — a coil

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