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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: deal · mouse · spell · spring · racket · tear · court · game

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. court — of law
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. spring — of water
  6. spell — magic
  7. tear — from crying
  8. spring — a coil
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. deal — to handle
  12. tear — from crying
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. spring — the season
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. game — a match
  18. court — for sport
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. spell — letters
  22. spell — a short time
  23. court — of a king
  24. tear — to rip

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