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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 120 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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. spring — of water
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. court — of law
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. mine — for digging
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. spring — the season
  10. spring — a coil
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. wind — moving air
  13. row — a line
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. row — to paddle
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. court — of a king
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. court — for sport
  21. wake — a trail
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. sharp — exactly

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