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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. mate — a partner
  4. spring — of water
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. mate — a friend
  7. spring — a coil
  8. craft — a skill
  9. spring — the season
  10. chest — of your body
  11. mate — to breed
  12. court — for sport
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. squash — to crush
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. squash — the sport
  17. spell — magic
  18. spell — letters
  19. court — of a king
  20. spell — a short time
  21. chest — of your body
  22. craft — boats
  23. chest — a box
  24. fan — to cool the air

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