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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. spring — the season
  4. land — a country
  5. ball — a great time
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. court — of a king
  10. cell — in biology
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. spring — of water
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. court — for sport
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. land — to come down
  19. land — ground
  20. kick — in football
  21. pass — a permit
  22. spring — a coil
  23. ball — a dance
  24. pass — to succeed

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