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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 116 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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. spring — a coil
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. court — for sport
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. court — of law
  10. last — to go on
  11. craft — boats
  12. cell — a phone
  13. court — of a king
  14. bat — the animal
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. craft — a skill
  19. spring — the season
  20. cell — in biology
  21. rush — hurry
  22. last — final
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. last — finally

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