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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. squash — the sport
  3. court — of law
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. wax — to grow
  6. wound — an injury
  7. court — for sport
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. wound — an injury
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. court — of a king
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. squash — to crush
  19. spring — the season
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. plane — a tool
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. spring — a coil
  24. lie — to recline

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