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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. spring — of water
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. spring — a coil
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. fine — all right
  9. key — for a lock
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. court — of law
  16. court — of a king
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. spring — the season
  20. pitch — completely
  21. stand — to bear
  22. fine — high quality
  23. key — the most important part
  24. key — in music

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