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

Word bank: snap · pop · court · chair · bank · spring · tear · mine

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. spring — of water
  4. chair — a leader
  5. bank — for money
  6. bank — for money
  7. tear — from crying
  8. mine — for digging
  9. bank — of a river
  10. pop — soda
  11. snap — to click
  12. pop — to visit
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. spring — a coil
  15. court — of law
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. tear — from crying
  18. pop — music
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. spring — the season
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. tear — to rip
  24. court — for sport

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