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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. march — the month
  3. court — of a king
  4. game — wild animals
  5. march — the month
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. march — music
  8. spring — the season
  9. row — a line
  10. pop — music
  11. sharp — clever
  12. spring — of water
  13. present — a gift
  14. court — for sport
  15. row — to paddle
  16. spring — a coil
  17. pop — to visit
  18. game — a match
  19. pop — soda
  20. court — of law
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. present — there
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. row — a quarrel

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