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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. court — for sport
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. bark — to shout
  6. court — of a king
  7. ball — a dance
  8. land — a country
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — child
  11. spring — of water
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. spring — a coil
  14. land — to come down
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. mate — a partner
  17. mate — to breed
  18. spring — the season
  19. mate — a friend
  20. land — ground
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. kid — to tease
  24. court — of law

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