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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 116 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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. court — of a king
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — from crying
  6. court — of law
  7. spring — the season
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. mark — a trace
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. spring — of water
  14. mine — for digging
  15. tear — to rip
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. court — for sport
  18. root — of a plant
  19. root — of a word
  20. root — the cause
  21. spring — a coil
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. mark — a grade
  24. mine — belonging to me

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