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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 120 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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. wind — moving air
  3. court — of a king
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. can — to be able to
  6. wind — moving air
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. track — to keep track
  10. pop — to visit
  11. track — a path
  12. court — for sport
  13. pop — soda
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. land — a country
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — the season
  18. track — a song
  19. land — to come down
  20. can — a tin
  21. court — of law
  22. pop — music
  23. can — a tin
  24. land — ground

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