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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. hand — help
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. court — for sport
  5. spring — a coil
  6. scale — size or range
  7. cue — a signal
  8. scale — in music
  9. court — of a king
  10. deal — to handle
  11. cue — a hint
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. spring — the season
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. hand — in cards
  20. cue — for pool
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. court — of law
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. arm — a part of something

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