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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. court — of a king
  3. shower — to wash
  4. spell — magic
  5. band — a ring
  6. spell — letters
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. wound — an injury
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. court — for sport
  13. band — a music group
  14. bass — low music
  15. spell — a short time
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. shower — rain
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. stand — to bear
  23. wound — an injury
  24. court — of law

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