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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. spring — the season
  3. court — of a king
  4. key — in music
  5. court — of law
  6. ground — a position
  7. spring — a coil
  8. key — the most important part
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. key — for a lock
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bass — low music
  14. ground — the earth
  15. mug — a cup
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. mug — to rob
  18. kick — in football
  19. cold — an illness
  20. ground — crushed
  21. cold — not warm
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. spring — of water
  24. court — for sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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