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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. court — of a king
  5. key — in music
  6. spring — of water
  7. chip — to eat
  8. file — a document
  9. key — for a lock
  10. key — the most important part
  11. rash — hasty
  12. bass — the fish
  13. rash — a series
  14. chip — for betting
  15. file — a tool
  16. court — for sport
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bass — low music
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. court — of law
  21. file — a line of people
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. spring — the season
  24. rash — on the skin

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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