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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. court — of a king
  3. mine — for digging
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. bass — the fish
  7. land — to come down
  8. spring — the season
  9. court — for sport
  10. bear — the animal
  11. land — a country
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. spring — a coil
  17. land — ground
  18. bass — low music
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. bear — the animal
  23. court — of law
  24. rush — hurry

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