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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. last — finally
  3. charge — a price
  4. spring — a coil
  5. ball — a great time
  6. hand — in cards
  7. court — for sport
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. cue — a signal
  10. hand — help
  11. court — of law
  12. charge — electricity
  13. charge — in control
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. court — of a king
  16. spring — of water
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. last — final
  20. spring — the season
  21. cue — for pool
  22. perch — the fish
  23. last — to go on
  24. ball — a dance

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