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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. march — the month
  3. ball — a great time
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. shower — to wash
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. wind — moving air
  8. root — the cause
  9. march — the month
  10. rash — hasty
  11. root — of a word
  12. shower — rain
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. march — music
  15. court — for sport
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. court — of a king
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. ball — a dance
  20. root — of a plant
  21. rash — a series
  22. lie — to recline
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. wind — moving air

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