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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. last — to go on
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. mate — a partner
  5. roll — a list
  6. spring — of water
  7. mate — to breed
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. court — for sport
  10. last — finally
  11. court — of law
  12. mate — a friend
  13. spring — the season
  14. rock — music
  15. tear — to rip
  16. roll — a cake
  17. tear — from crying
  18. rock — a stone
  19. last — final
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. spring — a coil
  24. tear — from crying

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