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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  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. fine — high quality
  2. game — wild animals
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. spring — the season
  5. hand — help
  6. bulb — for light
  7. court — of a king
  8. spell — a short time
  9. spell — magic
  10. present — there
  11. bulb — for light
  12. spring — of water
  13. hand — in cards
  14. spell — letters
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. fine — all right
  17. present — a gift
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. court — for sport
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. game — a match
  22. spring — a coil
  23. present — the time now
  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