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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. court — of a king
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. band — a ring
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. cold — not warm
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. spring — of water
  12. spring — the season
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. deal — to handle
  15. lean — to bend
  16. band — a music group
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. court — of law
  19. cold — an illness
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. lean — thin
  24. spring — a coil

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