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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: spring · land · tear · bowl · court · fine · rock · pitcher

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  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. court — of law
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. court — of a king
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. land — a country
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — to rip
  12. land — to come down
  13. spring — of water
  14. spring — the season
  15. rock — music
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. tear — from crying
  19. fine — all right
  20. spring — a coil
  21. court — for sport
  22. land — ground
  23. fine — high quality
  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