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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. court — for sport
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. saw — the tool
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. saw — the tool
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. fork — in a road
  14. spring — the season
  15. court — of a king
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. spring — a coil
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. squash — the sport
  21. spring — of water
  22. squash — to crush
  23. shower — to wash
  24. shower — rain

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