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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. court — for sport
  3. current — of water
  4. march — the month
  5. deal — to handle
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. current — electric
  9. march — the month
  10. court — of law
  11. court — of a king
  12. march — music
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. row — a line
  15. spring — the season
  16. spring — of water
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. cell — in biology
  21. current — happening now
  22. row — to paddle
  23. spring — a coil
  24. cell — in a prison

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