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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. bass — the fish
  4. season — of the year
  5. spring — the season
  6. can — a tin
  7. pop — to visit
  8. court — for sport
  9. court — of a king
  10. can — a tin
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. bass — low music
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. root — of a plant
  16. spring — a coil
  17. root — of a word
  18. pop — music
  19. court — of law
  20. season — in sport
  21. root — the cause
  22. spring — of water
  23. pop — soda
  24. can — to be able to

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