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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. staff — employees
  3. scale — size or range
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. pop — soda
  6. scale — in music
  7. staff — a stick
  8. court — for sport
  9. staff — employees
  10. spring — a coil
  11. kid — to tease
  12. court — of law
  13. rule — a law
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. pop — to visit
  16. fine — all right
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. spring — of water
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. rule — government
  21. pop — music
  22. fine — high quality
  23. court — of a king
  24. kid — child

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