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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. club — a group
  4. spring — a coil
  5. club — for dancing
  6. mate — a partner
  7. stem — to come from
  8. court — of a king
  9. mate — to breed
  10. mate — a friend
  11. club — for golf
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. spring — of water
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. rash — hasty
  19. sharp — clever
  20. court — for sport
  21. rash — a series
  22. spring — the season
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. racket — a loud noise

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