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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. court — for sport
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. object — a thing
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. present — a gift
  9. object — an aim
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. shower — rain
  13. court — of a king
  14. present — the time now
  15. present — there
  16. stock — goods
  17. stock — shares
  18. shower — to wash
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. spring — of water
  21. court — of law
  22. date — the fruit
  23. spring — the season
  24. object — to protest

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