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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 116 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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. rock — music
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. race — a contest
  6. key — in music
  7. court — for sport
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. ground — a position
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. wound — an injury
  13. key — for a lock
  14. ground — the earth
  15. ground — crushed
  16. court — of a king
  17. race — the arms race
  18. court — of law
  19. wound — an injury
  20. spring — the season
  21. key — the most important part
  22. race — humankind
  23. spring — of water
  24. rock — a stone

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