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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. spring — the season
  3. squash — the sport
  4. mate — a partner
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. court — of a king
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. prune — to trim
  9. squash — to crush
  10. saw — the tool
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. object — a thing
  14. spring — a coil
  15. prune — to trim
  16. saw — the tool
  17. mate — a friend
  18. pitch — completely
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. court — of law
  21. spring — of water
  22. object — to protest
  23. mate — to breed
  24. court — for sport

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